Method for wireless communication of vehicle in autonomous driving system and apparatus thereof

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for wireless communication to and from a vehicle in an autonomous driving system. A method for wireless communication to and from a vehicle in an autonomous driving system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes receiving data on a communication environment map that includes position-dependent beam information, from a server and determining a direction of transmitted or received beam based on a driving path for the vehicle and the communication environment map; and performing data communication using the direction of transmitted or received beam. With this method, the time taken for beam selection can be reduced, and path loss can be reduced. An autonomous vehicle according to the present disclosure operates in cooperation with an artificial intelligence module, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a robot, an augmented reality (AR) device, a virtual reality (VR) device, a device relating to 5G, and the like.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the National Stage filing under 35 U.S.C. 371 ofKorean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0097361, filed on Aug. 9, 2019,the contents of which are all hereby incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for wirelesscommunication to and from a vehicle in an autonomous driving system,and, more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for wirelesscommunication to and from a vehicle that performs beam-forming in anautonomous driving system.

Related Art

Vehicles can be classified into an internal combustion engine vehicle,an external composition engine vehicle, a gas turbine vehicle, anelectric vehicle, etc. according to types of motors used therefor.

An autonomous vehicle refers to a self-driving vehicle that can travelwithout an operation of a driver or a passenger, and Autonomous DrivingSystems refer to systems that monitor and control the autonomous vehiclesuch that the autonomous vehicle can perform self-driving.

In order to transfer data high-volume data in a faster manner invehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, there has been discussion onthe use of communication that uses a millimeter wave (mmWave) in ahigh-frequency band, such as a 28 GHz or 60 GHz band. In order tominimize path loss of a millimeter wave that requires strict line ofsight, there has been much discussion on a beam-forming technology thatuses a directional antenna.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method and anapparatus for wireless communication to and from a vehicle in anautonomous driving system, which are capable of decreasing path loss ofa signal.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a method and anapparatus for wireless communication to and from a vehicle in anautonomous driving system, which are capable of decreasing the timetaken for beam selection.

Technical problems that the present disclosure attempts to solve are notlimited to the technical problems described above. From Description ofExemplary Embodiments, other technical problems that are not mentionedwould be readily apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided amethod for wireless communication to and from a vehicle in an autonomousdriving system, the method including: receiving data on a communicationenvironment map that includes position-dependent beam information, froma server; determining a direction of transmitted or received beam basedon a driving path for the vehicle and the communication environment map;and performing data communication through the direction of transmittedor received beam.

In the method, the position-dependent beam information may includepositional information and beam-direction information relating to thepositional information.

In the method, the beam-direction information may include a beamdirection in which the strongest signal strength is obtained for eachspatial section that results from division by the positionalinformation, and a value of signal strength in the beam direction.

In the method, the determining of the direction of transmitted orreceived beam may include determining the direction of transmitted orreceived beam based on a reliability value representing the precision ofthe communication environment map and on whether or not antenna blockingoccurs due to an obstacle that is present in the beam direction which isindicated by the beam information.

In the method, the determining of the direction of transmitted orreceived beam may include determining the reliability value of thecommunication environment map, determining the direction of transmittedor received beam through a beam search that uses a synchronizationsignal, in a case where the reliability value is lower than apredetermined first reference value, determining whether or not theantenna blocking occurs, in a case where the reliability value is equalto or higher than the first reference value, determining a beam thatcorresponds to the beam direction that is indicated by the beaminformation, as the direction of transmitted or received beam, in a casewhere the reliability value is equal to or higher than a secondreference value that is set to be higher than the first reference valueand where the antenna blocking does not occur, determining the directionof transmitted or received beam by sequentially conducting a search inbeam directions, starting from the beam direction that is indicated bythe beam information, in a case where the reliability level is equal toor higher than the first reference level, but is lower than the secondreference level, and where the antenna blocking does not occur, anddetermining the direction of transmitted or received beam bysequentially conducting a search for beams, starting from a beam that isclosest to the beam direction which is indicated by the beaminformation, in a case where the antenna blocking occurs.

In the method, the reliability value may be determined based on an errorin an angle between the beam direction indicated by the beam informationand a beam direction that is found as a result of the search by thevehicle, at a specific position, or on the number of times that theantenna blocking occurs.

In the method, whether or not the antenna blocking occurs may bedetermined based on antenna-sensed information acquired by a proximitysensor that is provided in the vicinity of an antenna of the vehicle, oron a vehicle position and vehicle size of a different vehicle that ispositioned in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the vehicle position andvehicle size of the different vehicle may be acquired from vehicleinformation received from the different vehicle or by a sensor installedin the vehicle.

The method may further include changing a driving path for the vehiclebased on the communication environment map.

The method may further include changing a frequency for the datacommunication and a setting of a service providing operator based on thecommunication environment map.

The method may further include updating the communication environmentmap using a type of communication, a service provider, a frequency, anantenna position, or an obstacle position, which relates to the datacommunication.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is providedan apparatus for wireless communication to and from a vehicle in anautonomous driving system, the apparatus including: a transceiver thatincludes multiple antenna components; and a processor that isfunctionally coupled to the transceiver, in which the processor receivesdata on a communication environment map that includes position-dependentbeam information, from a server through the transceiver, determines adirection of transmitted or received beam based on a driving path forthe vehicle and the communication environment map, and sets thetransceiver to perform data communication through the direction oftransmitted or received beam.

Effects of the method and the apparatus for wireless communication in avehicle in an autonomous system according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure are described as follows.

According to the present disclosure, the data communication is performedthrough a directional beam. Thus, the method and the apparatus forwireless communication in a vehicle in an autonomous system can beprovided that are capable of decreasing path loss.

According to the present disclosure, the direction of transmitted orreceived beam is determined based on the communication environment mapincluding the position-dependent beam information. Thus, the method andthe apparatus for wireless communication in a vehicle in an autonomoussystem can be provided that are capable of decreasing the time taken forbeam selection.

Effects that can be accomplished according to the present disclosure arenot limited to those described above, and, from the followingdescription, effects that are not described above would be apparent to aperson of ordinary skill in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, included as part of the detailed descriptionin order to help understanding of the present disclosure, provideembodiments of the present disclosure and describe the technicalcharacteristics of the present disclosure along with the detaileddescription.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to whichmethods proposed in the disclosure are applicable.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a signal transmission/reception method in awireless communication system.

FIG. 3 shows an example of basic operations of an autonomous vehicle anda 5G network in a 5G communication system.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a basic operation between vehicles using 5Gcommunication.

FIG. 5 illustrates a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a control block diagram of an autonomous device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a signal flow in an autonomous vehicleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a diagram referred to in description of a usage scenario of auser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is an example of V2X communication to which the presentdisclosure is applicable.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a method of allocating a source in aside link for the V2X communication.

FIG. 12 is an example of a functional block diagram of an apparatus forwireless communication to and from a vehicle in an autonomous drivingsystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a flowchart of a method for wirelesscommunication to and from a vehicle in an autonomous driving systemaccording to the present embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a process of performing wirelesscommunication to and from a vehicle by using a communication environmentmap in the autonomous driving system according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a flow of a method of determining adirection of transmitted or received beam in the autonomous drivingsystem according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the autonomous driving systemaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates another example of the flow of the method forwireless communication to and from a vehicle in an autonomous drivingsystem according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detailwith reference to the attached drawings. The same or similar componentsare given the same reference numbers and redundant description thereofis omitted. The suffixes “module” and “unit” of elements herein are usedfor convenience of description and thus can be used interchangeably anddo not have any distinguishable meanings or functions. Further, in thefollowing description, if a detailed description of known techniquesassociated with the present disclosure would unnecessarily obscure thegist of the present disclosure, detailed description thereof will beomitted. In addition, the attached drawings are provided for easyunderstanding of embodiments of the disclosure and do not limittechnical spirits of the disclosure, and the embodiments should beconstrued as including all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the embodiments.

While terms, such as “first”, “second”, etc., may be used to describevarious components, such components must not be limited by the aboveterms. The above terms are used only to distinguish one component fromanother.

When an element is “coupled” or “connected” to another element, itshould be understood that a third element may be present between the twoelements although the element may be directly coupled or connected tothe other element. When an element is “directly coupled” or “directlyconnected” to another element, it should be understood that no elementis present between the two elements.

The singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well,unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In addition, in the specification, it will be further understood thatthe terms “comprise” and “include” specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orcombinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition ofone or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or combinations.

A. Example of Block Diagram of UE and 5G Network

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to whichmethods proposed in the disclosure are applicable.

Referring to FIG. 1, a device (autonomous device) including anautonomous module is defined as a first communication device (910 ofFIG. 1), and a processor 911 can perform detailed autonomous operations.

A 5G network including another vehicle communicating with the autonomousdevice is defined as a second communication device (920 of FIG. 1), anda processor 921 can perform detailed autonomous operations.

The 5G network may be represented as the first communication device andthe autonomous device may be represented as the second communicationdevice.

For example, the first communication device or the second communicationdevice may be a base station, a network node, a transmission terminal, areception terminal, a wireless device, a wireless communication device,an autonomous device, or the like.

For example, a terminal or user equipment (UE) may include a vehicle, acellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcastterminal, personal digital assistants (PDAs), a portable multimediaplayer (PMP), a navigation device, a slate PC, a tablet PC, anultrabook, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, a smart glass and ahead mounted display (HMD)), etc. For example, the HMD may be a displaydevice worn on the head of a user. For example, the HMD may be used torealize VR, AR or MR. Referring to FIG. 1, the first communicationdevice 910 and the second communication device 920 include processors911 and 921, memories 914 and 924, one or more Tx/Rx radio frequency(RF) modules 915 and 925, Tx processors 912 and 922, Rx processors 913and 923, and antennas 916 and 926. The Tx/Rx module is also referred toas a transceiver. Each Tx/Rx module 915 transmits a signal through eachantenna 926. The processor implements the aforementioned functions,processes and/or methods. The processor 921 may be related to the memory924 that stores program code and data. The memory may be referred to asa computer-readable medium. More specifically, the Tx processor 912implements various signal processing functions with respect to L1 (i.e.,physical layer) in DL (communication from the first communication deviceto the second communication device). The Rx processor implements varioussignal processing functions of L1 (i.e., physical layer).

UL (communication from the second communication device to the firstcommunication device) is processed in the first communication device 910in a way similar to that described in association with a receiverfunction in the second communication device 920. Each Tx/Rx module 925receives a signal through each antenna 926. Each Tx/Rx module providesRF carriers and information to the Rx processor 923. The processor 921may be related to the memory 924 that stores program code and data. Thememory may be referred to as a computer-readable medium.

B. Signal Transmission/Reception Method in Wireless Communication System

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a signaltransmission/reception method in a wireless communication system.

Referring to FIG. 2, when a UE is powered on or enters a new cell, theUE performs an initial cell search operation such as synchronizationwith a BS (S201). For this operation, the UE can receive a primarysynchronization channel (P-SCH) and a secondary synchronization channel(S-SCH) from the BS to synchronize with the BS and acquire informationsuch as a cell ID. In LTE and NR systems, the P-SCH and S-SCH arerespectively called a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and asecondary synchronization signal (SSS). After initial cell search, theUE can acquire broadcast information in the cell by receiving a physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH) from the BS. Further, the UE can receive adownlink reference signal (DL RS) in the initial cell search step tocheck a downlink channel state. After initial cell search, the UE canacquire more detailed system information by receiving a physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) and information included in the PDCCH (S202).

Meanwhile, when the UE initially accesses the BS or has no radioresource for signal transmission, the UE can perform a random accessprocedure (RACH) for the BS (steps S203 to S206). To this end, the UEcan transmit a specific sequence as a preamble through a physical randomaccess channel (PRACH) (S203 and S205) and receive a random accessresponse (RAR) message for the preamble through a PDCCH and acorresponding PDSCH (S204 and S206). In the case of a contention-basedRACH, a contention resolution procedure may be additionally performed.

After the UE performs the above-described process, the UE can performPDCCH/PDSCH reception (S207) and physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH)/physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission (S208) asnormal uplink/downlink signal transmission processes. Particularly, theUE receives downlink control information (DCI) through the PDCCH. The UEmonitors a set of PDCCH candidates in monitoring occasions set for oneor more control element sets (CORESET) on a serving cell according tocorresponding search space configurations. A set of PDCCH candidates tobe monitored by the UE is defined in terms of search space sets, and asearch space set may be a common search space set or a UE-specificsearch space set. CORESET includes a set of (physical) resource blockshaving a duration of one to three OFDM symbols. A network can configurethe UE such that the UE has a plurality of CORESETs. The UE monitorsPDCCH candidates in one or more search space sets. Here, monitoringmeans attempting decoding of PDCCH candidate(s) in a search space. Whenthe UE has successfully decoded one of PDCCH candidates in a searchspace, the UE determines that a PDCCH has been detected from the PDCCHcandidate and performs PDSCH reception or PUSCH transmission on thebasis of DCI in the detected PDCCH. The PDCCH can be used to schedule DLtransmissions over a PDSCH and UL transmissions over a PUSCH. Here, theDCI in the PDCCH includes downlink assignment (i.e., downlink grant (DLgrant)) related to a physical downlink shared channel and including atleast a modulation and coding format and resource allocationinformation, or an uplink grant (UL grant) related to a physical uplinkshared channel and including a modulation and coding format and resourceallocation information.

An initial access (IA) procedure in a 5G communication system will beadditionally described with reference to FIG. 2.

The UE can perform cell search, system information acquisition, beamalignment for initial access, and DL measurement on the basis of an SSB.The SSB is interchangeably used with a synchronization signal/physicalbroadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block.

The SSB includes a PSS, an SSS and a PBCH. The SSB is configured in fourconsecutive OFDM symbols, and a PSS, a PBCH, an SSS/PBCH or a PBCH istransmitted for each OFDM symbol. Each of the PSS and the SSS includesone OFDM symbol and 127 subcarriers, and the PBCH includes 3 OFDMsymbols and 576 subcarriers.

Cell search refers to a process in which a UE acquires time/frequencysynchronization of a cell and detects a cell identifier (ID) (e.g.,physical layer cell ID (PCI)) of the cell. The PSS is used to detect acell ID in a cell ID group and the SSS is used to detect a cell IDgroup. The PBCH is used to detect an SSB (time) index and a half-frame.

There are 336 cell ID groups and there are 3 cell IDs per cell ID group.A total of 1008 cell IDs are present. Information on a cell ID group towhich a cell ID of a cell belongs is provided/acquired through an SSS ofthe cell, and information on the cell ID among 336 cell ID groups isprovided/acquired through a PSS.

The SSB is periodically transmitted in accordance with SSB periodicity.A default SSB periodicity assumed by a UE during initial cell search isdefined as 20 ms. After cell access, the SSB periodicity can be set toone of {5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, 160 ms} by a network (e.g., aBS).

Next, acquisition of system information (SI) will be described.

SI is divided into a master information block (MIB) and a plurality ofsystem information blocks (SIBs). SI other than the MIB may be referredto as remaining minimum system information. The MIB includesinformation/parameter for monitoring a PDCCH that schedules a PDSCHcarrying SIB1 (SystemInformationBlock1) and is transmitted by a BSthrough a PBCH of an SSB. SIB1 includes information related toavailability and scheduling (e.g., transmission periodicity andSI-window size) of the remaining SIBs (hereinafter, SIBx, x is aninteger equal to or greater than 2). SiBx is included in an SI messageand transmitted over a PDSCH. Each SI message is transmitted within aperiodically generated time window (i.e., SI-window).

A random access (RA) procedure in a 5G communication system will beadditionally described with reference to FIG. 2.

A random access procedure is used for various purposes. For example, therandom access procedure can be used for network initial access,handover, and UE-triggered UL data transmission. A UE can acquire ULsynchronization and UL transmission resources through the random accessprocedure. The random access procedure is classified into acontention-based random access procedure and a contention-free randomaccess procedure. A detailed procedure for the contention-based randomaccess procedure is as follows.

A UE can transmit a random access preamble through a PRACH as Msg1 of arandom access procedure in UL. Random access preamble sequences havingdifferent two lengths are supported. A long sequence length 839 isapplied to subcarrier spacings of 1.25 kHz and 5 kHz and a shortsequence length 139 is applied to subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz,60 kHz and 120 kHz.

When a BS receives the random access preamble from the UE, the BStransmits a random access response (RAR) message (Msg2) to the UE. APDCCH that schedules a PDSCH carrying a RAR is CRC masked by a randomaccess (RA) radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) (RA-RNTI) andtransmitted. Upon detection of the PDCCH masked by the RA-RNTI, the UEcan receive a RAR from the PDSCH scheduled by DCI carried by the PDCCH.The UE checks whether the RAR includes random access responseinformation with respect to the preamble transmitted by the UE, that is,Msg1. Presence or absence of random access information with respect toMsg1 transmitted by the UE can be determined according to presence orabsence of a random access preamble ID with respect to the preambletransmitted by the UE. If there is no response to Msg1, the UE canretransmit the RACH preamble less than a predetermined number of timeswhile performing power ramping. The UE calculates PRACH transmissionpower for preamble retransmission on the basis of most recent pathlossand a power ramping counter.

The UE can perform UL transmission through Msg3 of the random accessprocedure over a physical uplink shared channel on the basis of therandom access response information. Msg3 can include an RRC connectionrequest and a UE ID. The network can transmit Msg4 as a response toMsg3, and Msg4 can be handled as a contention resolution message on DL.The UE can enter an RRC connected state by receiving Msg4.

C. Beam Management (BM) Procedure of 5G Communication System

A BM procedure can be divided into (1) a DL MB procedure using an SSB ora CSI-RS and (2) a UL BM procedure using a sounding reference signal(SRS). In addition, each BM procedure can include Tx beam swiping fordetermining a Tx beam and Rx beam swiping for determining an Rx beam.

The DL BM procedure using an SSB will be described.

Configuration of a beam report using an SSB is performed when channelstate information (CSI)/beam is configured in RRC_CONNECTED.

-   -   A UE receives a CSI-ResourceConfig IE including        CSI-SSB-ResourceSetList for SSB resources used for BM from a BS.        The RRC parameter “csi-SSB-ResourceSetList” represents a list of        SSB resources used for beam management and report in one        resource set. Here, an SSB resource set can be set as {SSB×1,        SSB×2, SSB×3, SSB×4, . . . }. An SSB index can be defined in the        range of 0 to 63.    -   The UE receives the signals on SSB resources from the BS on the        basis of the CSI-SSB-ResourceSetList.    -   When CSI-RS reportConfig with respect to a report on SSBRI and        reference signal received power (RSRP) is set, the UE reports        the best SSBRI and RSRP corresponding thereto to the BS. For        example, when reportQuantity of the CSI-RS reportConfig IE is        set to ‘ssb-Index-RSRP’, the UE reports the best SSBRI and RSRP        corresponding thereto to the BS.

When a CSI-RS resource is configured in the same OFDM symbols as an SSBand ‘QCL-TypeD’ is applicable, the UE can assume that the CSI-RS and theSSB are quasi co-located (QCL) from the viewpoint of ‘QCL-TypeD’. Here,QCL-TypeD may mean that antenna ports are quasi co-located from theviewpoint of a spatial Rx parameter. When the UE receives signals of aplurality of DL antenna ports in a QCL-TypeD relationship, the same Rxbeam can be applied.

Next, a DL BM procedure using a CSI-RS will be described.

An Rx beam determination (or refinement) procedure of a UE and a Tx beamswiping procedure of a BS using a CSI-RS will be sequentially described.A repetition parameter is set to ‘ON’ in the Rx beam determinationprocedure of a UE and set to ‘OFF’ in the Tx beam swiping procedure of aBS.

First, the Rx beam determination procedure of a UE will be described.

-   -   The UE receives an NZP CSI-RS resource set IE including an RRC        parameter with respect to ‘repetition’ from a BS through RRC        signaling. Here, the RRC parameter ‘repetition’ is set to ‘ON’.    -   The UE repeatedly receives signals on resources in a CSI-RS        resource set in which the RRC parameter ‘repetition’ is set to        ‘ON’ in different OFDM symbols through the same Tx beam (or DL        spatial domain transmission filters) of the BS.    -   The UE determines an RX beam thereof.    -   The UE skips a CSI report. That is, the UE can skip a CSI report        when the RRC parameter ‘repetition’ is set to ‘ON’.

Next, the Tx beam determination procedure of a BS will be described.

-   -   A UE receives an NZP CSI-RS resource set IE including an RRC        parameter with respect to ‘repetition’ from the BS through RRC        signaling. Here, the RRC parameter ‘repetition’ is related to        the Tx beam swiping procedure of the BS when set to ‘OFF’.    -   The UE receives signals on resources in a CSI-RS resource set in        which the RRC parameter ‘repetition’ is set to ‘OFF’ in        different DL spatial domain transmission filters of the BS.    -   The UE selects (or determines) a best beam.    -   The UE reports an ID (e.g., CRI) of the selected beam and        related quality information (e.g., RSRP) to the BS. That is,        when a CSI-RS is transmitted for BM, the UE reports a CRI and        RSRP with respect thereto to the BS.

Next, the UL BM procedure using an SRS will be described.

-   -   A UE receives RRC signaling (e.g., SRS-Config IE) including a        (RRC parameter) purpose parameter set to ‘beam management” from        a BS. The SRS-Config IE is used to set SRS transmission. The        SRS-Config IE includes a list of SRS-Resources and a list of        SRS-ResourceSets. Each SRS resource set refers to a set of        SRS-resources.

The UE determines Tx beamforming for SRS resources to be transmitted onthe basis of SRS-SpatialRelation Info included in the SRS-Config IE.Here, SRS-SpatialRelation Info is set for each SRS resource andindicates whether the same beamforming as that used for an SSB, a CSI-RSor an SRS will be applied for each SRS resource.

-   -   When SRS-SpatialRelationInfo is set for SRS resources, the same        beamforming as that used for the SSB, CSI-RS or SRS is applied.        However, when SRS-SpatialRelationInfo is not set for SRS        resources, the UE arbitrarily determines Tx beamforming and        transmits an SRS through the determined Tx beamforming.

Next, a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure will be described.

In a beamformed system, radio link failure (RLF) may frequently occurdue to rotation, movement or beamforming blockage of a UE. Accordingly,NR supports BFR in order to prevent frequent occurrence of RLF. BFR issimilar to a radio link failure recovery procedure and can be supportedwhen a UE knows new candidate beams. For beam failure detection, a BSconfigures beam failure detection reference signals for a UE, and the UEdeclares beam failure when the number of beam failure indications fromthe physical layer of the UE reaches a threshold set through RRCsignaling within a period set through RRC signaling of the BS. Afterbeam failure detection, the UE triggers beam failure recovery byinitiating a random access procedure in a PCell and performs beamfailure recovery by selecting a suitable beam. (When the BS providesdedicated random access resources for certain beams, these areprioritized by the UE). Completion of the aforementioned random accessprocedure is regarded as completion of beam failure recovery.

D. URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication)

URLLC transmission defined in NR can refer to (1) a relatively lowtraffic size, (2) a relatively low arrival rate, (3) extremely lowlatency requirements (e.g., 0.5 and 1 ms), (4) relatively shorttransmission duration (e.g., 2 OFDM symbols), (5) urgentservices/messages, etc. In the case of UL, transmission of traffic of aspecific type (e.g., URLLC) needs to be multiplexed with anothertransmission (e.g., eMBB) scheduled in advance in order to satisfy morestringent latency requirements. In this regard, a method of providinginformation indicating preemption of specific resources to a UEscheduled in advance and allowing a URLLC UE to use the resources for ULtransmission is provided.

NR supports dynamic resource sharing between eMBB and URLLC. eMBB andURLLC services can be scheduled on non-overlapping time/frequencyresources, and URLLC transmission can occur in resources scheduled forongoing eMBB traffic. An eMBB UE may not ascertain whether PDSCHtransmission of the corresponding UE has been partially punctured andthe UE may not decode a PDSCH due to corrupted coded bits. In view ofthis, NR provides a preemption indication. The preemption indication mayalso be referred to as an interrupted transmission indication.

With regard to the preemption indication, a UE receivesDownlinkPreemption IE through RRC signaling from a BS. When the UE isprovided with DownlinkPreemption IE, the UE is configured with INT-RNTIprovided by a parameter int-RNTI in DownlinkPreemption IE for monitoringof a PDCCH that conveys DCI format 2_1. The UE is additionallyconfigured with a corresponding set of positions for fields in DCIformat 2_1 according to a set of serving cells and positionInDCI byINT-ConfigurationPerServing Cell including a set of serving cell indexesprovided by servingCellID, configured having an information payload sizefor DCI format 2_1 according to dci-Payloadsize, and configured withindication granularity of time-frequency resources according totimeFrequencySect.

The UE receives DCI format 2_1 from the BS on the basis of theDownlinkPreemption IE.

When the UE detects DCI format 2_1 for a serving cell in a configuredset of serving cells, the UE can assume that there is no transmission tothe UE in PRBs and symbols indicated by the DCI format 2_1 in a set ofPRBs and a set of symbols in a last monitoring period before amonitoring period to which the DCI format 2_1 belongs. For example, theUE assumes that a signal in a time-frequency resource indicatedaccording to preemption is not DL transmission scheduled therefor anddecodes data on the basis of signals received in the remaining resourceregion.

E. mMTC (Massive MTC)

mMTC (massive Machine Type Communication) is one of 5G scenarios forsupporting a hyper-connection service providing simultaneouscommunication with a large number of UEs. In this environment, a UEintermittently performs communication with a very low speed andmobility. Accordingly, a main goal of mMTC is operating a UE for a longtime at a low cost. With respect to mMTC, 3GPP deals with MTC and NB(NarrowBand)-IoT.

mMTC has features such as repetitive transmission of a PDCCH, a PUCCH, aPDSCH (physical downlink shared channel), a PUSCH, etc., frequencyhopping, retuning, and a guard period.

That is, a PUSCH (or a PUCCH (particularly, a long PUCCH) or a PRACH)including specific information and a PDSCH (or a PDCCH) including aresponse to the specific information are repeatedly transmitted.Repetitive transmission is performed through frequency hopping, and forrepetitive transmission, (RF) retuning from a first frequency resourceto a second frequency resource is performed in a guard period and thespecific information and the response to the specific information can betransmitted/received through a narrowband (e.g., 6 resource blocks (RBs)or 1 RB).

F. Basic Operation Between Autonomous Vehicles Using 5G Communication

FIG. 3 shows an example of basic operations of an autonomous vehicle anda 5G network in a 5G communication system.

The autonomous vehicle transmits specific information to the 5G network(S1). The specific information may include autonomous driving relatedinformation. In addition, the 5G network can determine whether toremotely control the vehicle (S2). Here, the 5G network may include aserver or a module which performs remote control related to autonomousdriving. In addition, the 5G network can transmit information (orsignal) related to remote control to the autonomous vehicle (S3).

G. Applied Operations Between Autonomous Vehicle and 5G Network in 5GCommunication System

Hereinafter, the operation of an autonomous vehicle using 5Gcommunication will be described in more detail with reference towireless communication technology (BM procedure, URLLC, mMTC, etc.)described in FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, a basic procedure of an applied operation to which a methodproposed by the present disclosure which will be described later andeMBB of 5G communication are applied will be described.

As in steps S1 and S3 of FIG. 3, the autonomous vehicle performs aninitial access procedure and a random access procedure with the 5Gnetwork prior to step S1 of FIG. 3 in order to transmit/receive signals,information and the like to/from the 5G network.

More specifically, the autonomous vehicle performs an initial accessprocedure with the 5G network on the basis of an SSB in order to acquireDL synchronization and system information. A beam management (BM)procedure and a beam failure recovery procedure may be added in theinitial access procedure, and quasi-co-location (QCL) relation may beadded in a process in which the autonomous vehicle receives a signalfrom the 5G network.

In addition, the autonomous vehicle performs a random access procedurewith the 5G network for UL synchronization acquisition and/or ULtransmission. The 5G network can transmit, to the autonomous vehicle, aUL grant for scheduling transmission of specific information.Accordingly, the autonomous vehicle transmits the specific informationto the 5G network on the basis of the UL grant. In addition, the 5Gnetwork transmits, to the autonomous vehicle, a DL grant for schedulingtransmission of 5G processing results with respect to the specificinformation. Accordingly, the 5G network can transmit, to the autonomousvehicle, information (or a signal) related to remote control on thebasis of the DL grant.

Next, a basic procedure of an applied operation to which a methodproposed by the present disclosure which will be described later andURLLC of 5G communication are applied will be described.

As described above, an autonomous vehicle can receive DownlinkPreemptionIE from the 5G network after the autonomous vehicle performs an initialaccess procedure and/or a random access procedure with the 5G network.Then, the autonomous vehicle receives DCI format 2_1 including apreemption indication from the 5G network on the basis ofDownlinkPreemption IE. The autonomous vehicle does not perform (orexpect or assume) reception of eMBB data in resources (PRBs and/or OFDMsymbols) indicated by the preemption indication. Thereafter, when theautonomous vehicle needs to transmit specific information, theautonomous vehicle can receive a UL grant from the 5G network.

Next, a basic procedure of an applied operation to which a methodproposed by the present disclosure which will be described later andmMTC of 5G communication are applied will be described.

Description will focus on parts in the steps of FIG. 3 which are changedaccording to application of mMTC.

In step S1 of FIG. 3, the autonomous vehicle receives a UL grant fromthe 5G network in order to transmit specific information to the 5Gnetwork. Here, the UL grant may include information on the number ofrepetitions of transmission of the specific information and the specificinformation may be repeatedly transmitted on the basis of theinformation on the number of repetitions. That is, the autonomousvehicle transmits the specific information to the 5G network on thebasis of the UL grant. Repetitive transmission of the specificinformation may be performed through frequency hopping, the firsttransmission of the specific information may be performed in a firstfrequency resource, and the second transmission of the specificinformation may be performed in a second frequency resource. Thespecific information can be transmitted through a narrowband of 6resource blocks (RBs) or 1 RB.

H. Autonomous Driving Operation Between Vehicles Using 5G Communication

FIG. 4 shows an example of a basic operation between vehicles using 5Gcommunication.

A first vehicle transmits specific information to a second vehicle(S61). The second vehicle transmits a response to the specificinformation to the first vehicle (S62).

Meanwhile, a configuration of an applied operation between vehicles maydepend on whether the 5G network is directly (sidelink communicationtransmission mode 3) or indirectly (sidelink communication transmissionmode 4) involved in resource allocation for the specific information andthe response to the specific information.

Next, an applied operation between vehicles using 5G communication willbe described.

First, a method in which a 5G network is directly involved in resourceallocation for signal transmission/reception between vehicles will bedescribed.

The 5G network can transmit DCI format 5A to the first vehicle forscheduling of mode-3 transmission (PSCCH and/or PSSCH transmission).Here, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) is a 5G physicalchannel for scheduling of transmission of specific information aphysical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) is a 5G physical channel fortransmission of specific information. In addition, the first vehicletransmits SCI format 1 for scheduling of specific informationtransmission to the second vehicle over a PSCCH. Then, the first vehicletransmits the specific information to the second vehicle over a PSSCH.

Next, a method in which a 5G network is indirectly involved in resourceallocation for signal transmission/reception will be described.

The first vehicle senses resources for mode-4 transmission in a firstwindow. Then, the first vehicle selects resources for mode-4transmission in a second window on the basis of the sensing result.Here, the first window refers to a sensing window and the second windowrefers to a selection window. The first vehicle transmits SCI format 1for scheduling of transmission of specific information to the secondvehicle over a PSCCH on the basis of the selected resources. Then, thefirst vehicle transmits the specific information to the second vehicleover a PSSCH.

The above-described 5G communication technology can be combined withmethods proposed in the present disclosure which will be described laterand applied or can complement the methods proposed in the presentdisclosure to make technical features of the methods concrete and clear.

Driving

(1) Exterior of Vehicle

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a vehicle according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, a vehicle 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure is defined as a transportation means traveling onroads or railroads. The vehicle 10 includes a car, a train and amotorcycle. The vehicle 10 may include an internal-combustion enginevehicle having an engine as a power source, a hybrid vehicle having anengine and a motor as a power source, and an electric vehicle having anelectric motor as a power source. The vehicle 10 may be a private ownvehicle. The vehicle 10 may be a shared vehicle. The vehicle 10 may bean autonomous vehicle.

(2) Components of Vehicle

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, the vehicle 10 may include a user interface device200, an object detection device 210, a communication device 220, adriving operation device 230, a main ECU 240, a driving control device250, an autonomous device 260, a sensing unit 270, and a position datageneration device 280. The object detection device 210, thecommunication device 220, the driving operation device 230, the main ECU240, the driving control device 250, the autonomous device 260, thesensing unit 270 and the position data generation device 280 may berealized by electronic devices which generate electric signals andexchange the electric signals from one another.

1) User Interface Device

The user interface device 200 is a device for communication between thevehicle 10 and a user. The user interface device 200 can receive userinput and provide information generated in the vehicle 10 to the user.The vehicle 10 can realize a user interface (UI) or user experience (UX)through the user interface device 200. The user interface device 200 mayinclude an input device, an output device and a user monitoring device.

2) Object Detection Device

The object detection device 210 can generate information about objectsoutside the vehicle 10. Information about an object can include at leastone of information on presence or absence of the object, positionalinformation of the object, information on a distance between the vehicle10 and the object, and information on a relative speed of the vehicle 10with respect to the object. The object detection device 210 can detectobjects outside the vehicle 10. The object detection device 210 mayinclude at least one sensor which can detect objects outside the vehicle10. The object detection device 210 may include at least one of acamera, a radar, a lidar, an ultrasonic sensor and an infrared sensor.The object detection device 210 can provide data about an objectgenerated on the basis of a sensing signal generated from a sensor to atleast one electronic device included in the vehicle.

2.1) Camera

The camera can generate information about objects outside the vehicle 10using images. The camera may include at least one lens, at least oneimage sensor, and at least one processor which is electrically connectedto the image sensor, processes received signals and generates data aboutobjects on the basis of the processed signals.

The camera may be at least one of a mono camera, a stereo camera and anaround view monitoring (AVM) camera. The camera can acquire positionalinformation of objects, information on distances to objects, orinformation on relative speeds with respect to objects using variousimage processing algorithms. For example, the camera can acquireinformation on a distance to an object and information on a relativespeed with respect to the object from an acquired image on the basis ofchange in the size of the object over time. For example, the camera mayacquire information on a distance to an object and information on arelative speed with respect to the object through a pin-hole model, roadprofiling, or the like. For example, the camera may acquire informationon a distance to an object and information on a relative speed withrespect to the object from a stereo image acquired from a stereo cameraon the basis of disparity information.

The camera may be attached at a portion of the vehicle at which FOV(field of view) can be secured in order to photograph the outside of thevehicle. The camera may be disposed in proximity to the front windshieldinside the vehicle in order to acquire front view images of the vehicle.The camera may be disposed near a front bumper or a radiator grill. Thecamera may be disposed in proximity to a rear glass inside the vehiclein order to acquire rear view images of the vehicle. The camera may bedisposed near a rear bumper, a trunk or a tail gate. The camera may bedisposed in proximity to at least one of side windows inside the vehiclein order to acquire side view images of the vehicle. Alternatively, thecamera may be disposed near a side mirror, a fender or a door.

2.2) Radar

The radar can generate information about an object outside the vehicleusing electromagnetic waves. The radar may include an electromagneticwave transmitter, an electromagnetic wave receiver, and at least oneprocessor which is electrically connected to the electromagnetic wavetransmitter and the electromagnetic wave receiver, processes receivedsignals and generates data about an object on the basis of the processedsignals. The radar may be realized as a pulse radar or a continuous waveradar in terms of electromagnetic wave emission. The continuous waveradar may be realized as a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW)radar or a frequency shift keying (FSK) radar according to signalwaveform. The radar can detect an object through electromagnetic waveson the basis of TOF (Time of Flight) or phase shift and detect theposition of the detected object, a distance to the detected object and arelative speed with respect to the detected object. The radar may bedisposed at an appropriate position outside the vehicle in order todetect objects positioned in front of, behind or on the side of thevehicle.

2.3 Lidar

The lidar can generate information about an object outside the vehicle10 using a laser beam. The lidar may include a light transmitter, alight receiver, and at least one processor which is electricallyconnected to the light transmitter and the light receiver, processesreceived signals and generates data about an object on the basis of theprocessed signal. The lidar may be realized according to TOF or phaseshift. The lidar may be realized as a driven type or a non-driven type.A driven type lidar may be rotated by a motor and detect an objectaround the vehicle 10. A non-driven type lidar may detect an objectpositioned within a predetermined range from the vehicle according tolight steering. The vehicle 10 may include a plurality of non-drive typelidars. The lidar can detect an object through a laser beam on the basisof TOF (Time of Flight) or phase shift and detect the position of thedetected object, a distance to the detected object and a relative speedwith respect to the detected object. The lidar may be disposed at anappropriate position outside the vehicle in order to detect objectspositioned in front of, behind or on the side of the vehicle.

3) Communication Device

The communication device 220 can exchange signals with devices disposedoutside the vehicle 10. The communication device 220 can exchangesignals with at least one of infrastructure (e.g., a server and abroadcast station), another vehicle and a terminal. The communicationdevice 220 may include a transmission antenna, a reception antenna, andat least one of a radio frequency (RF) circuit and an RF element whichcan implement various communication protocols in order to performcommunication.

For example, the communication device can exchange signals with externaldevices on the basis of C-V2X (Cellular V2X). For example, C-V2X caninclude sidelink communication based on LTE and/or sidelinkcommunication based on NR. Details related to C-V2X will be describedlater.

For example, the communication device can exchange signals with externaldevices on the basis of DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) orWAVE (Wireless Access in Vehicular Environment) standards based on IEEE802.11p PHY/MAC layer technology and IEEE 1609 Network/Transport layertechnology. DSRC (or WAVE standards) is communication specifications forproviding an intelligent transport system (ITS) service throughshort-range dedicated communication between vehicle-mounted devices orbetween a roadside device and a vehicle-mounted device. DSRC may be acommunication scheme that can use a frequency of 5.9 GHz and have a datatransfer rate in the range of 3 Mbps to 27 Mbps. IEEE 802.11p may becombined with IEEE 1609 to support DSRC (or WAVE standards).

The communication device of the present disclosure can exchange signalswith external devices using only one of C-V2X and DSRC. Alternatively,the communication device of the present disclosure can exchange signalswith external devices using a hybrid of C-V2X and DSRC.

4) Driving Operation Device

The driving operation device 230 is a device for receiving user inputfor driving. In a manual mode, the vehicle 10 may be driven on the basisof a signal provided by the driving operation device 230. The drivingoperation device 230 may include a steering input device (e.g., asteering wheel), an acceleration input device (e.g., an accelerationpedal) and a brake input device (e.g., a brake pedal).

5) Main ECU

The main ECU 240 can control the overall operation of at least oneelectronic device included in the vehicle 10.

6) Driving Control Device

The driving control device 250 is a device for electrically controllingvarious vehicle driving devices included in the vehicle 10. The drivingcontrol device 250 may include a power train driving control device, achassis driving control device, a door/window driving control device, asafety device driving control device, a lamp driving control device, andan air-conditioner driving control device. The power train drivingcontrol device may include a power source driving control device and atransmission driving control device. The chassis driving control devicemay include a steering driving control device, a brake driving controldevice and a suspension driving control device. Meanwhile, the safetydevice driving control device may include a seat belt driving controldevice for seat belt control.

The driving control device 250 includes at least one electronic controldevice (e.g., a control ECU (Electronic Control Unit)).

The driving control device 250 can control vehicle driving devices onthe basis of signals received by the autonomous device 260. For example,the driving control device 250 can control a power train, a steeringdevice and a brake device on the basis of signals received by theautonomous device 260.

7) Autonomous Device

The autonomous device 260 can generate a route for self-driving on thebasis of acquired data. The autonomous device 260 can generate a drivingplan for traveling along the generated route. The autonomous device 260can generate a signal for controlling movement of the vehicle accordingto the driving plan. The autonomous device 260 can provide the signal tothe driving control device 250.

The autonomous device 260 can implement at least one ADAS (AdvancedDriver Assistance System) function. The ADAS can implement at least oneof ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking),FCW (Forward Collision Warning), LKA (Lane Keeping Assist), LCA (LaneChange Assist), TFA (Target Following Assist), BSD (Blind SpotDetection), HBA (High Beam Assist), APS (Auto Parking System), a PDcollision warning system, TSR (Traffic Sign Recognition), TSA (TrafficSign Assist), NV (Night Vision), DSM (Driver Status Monitoring) and TJA(Traffic Jam Assist).

The autonomous device 260 can perform switching from a self-driving modeto a manual driving mode or switching from the manual driving mode tothe self-driving mode. For example, the autonomous device 260 can switchthe mode of the vehicle 10 from the self-driving mode to the manualdriving mode or from the manual driving mode to the self-driving mode onthe basis of a signal received from the user interface device 200.

8) Sensing Unit

The sensing unit 270 can detect a state of the vehicle. The sensing unit270 may include at least one of an internal measurement unit (IMU)sensor, a collision sensor, a wheel sensor, a speed sensor, aninclination sensor, a weight sensor, a heading sensor, a positionmodule, a vehicle forward/backward movement sensor, a battery sensor, afuel sensor, a tire sensor, a steering sensor, a temperature sensor, ahumidity sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an illumination sensor, and apedal position sensor. Further, the IMU sensor may include one or moreof an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor and a magnetic sensor.

The sensing unit 270 can generate vehicle state data on the basis of asignal generated from at least one sensor. Vehicle state data may beinformation generated on the basis of data detected by various sensorsincluded in the vehicle. The sensing unit 270 may generate vehicleattitude data, vehicle motion data, vehicle yaw data, vehicle roll data,vehicle pitch data, vehicle collision data, vehicle orientation data,vehicle angle data, vehicle speed data, vehicle acceleration data,vehicle tilt data, vehicle forward/backward movement data, vehicleweight data, battery data, fuel data, tire pressure data, vehicleinternal temperature data, vehicle internal humidity data, steeringwheel rotation angle data, vehicle external illumination data, data of apressure applied to an acceleration pedal, data of a pressure applied toa brake panel, etc.

9) Position Data Generation Device

The position data generation device 280 can generate position data ofthe vehicle 10. The position data generation device 280 may include atleast one of a global positioning system (GPS) and a differential globalpositioning system (DGPS). The position data generation device 280 cangenerate position data of the vehicle 10 on the basis of a signalgenerated from at least one of the GPS and the DGPS. According to anembodiment, the position data generation device 280 can correct positiondata on the basis of at least one of the inertial measurement unit (IMU)sensor of the sensing unit 270 and the camera of the object detectiondevice 210. The position data generation device 280 may also be called aglobal navigation satellite system (GNSS).

The vehicle 10 may include an internal communication system 50. Theplurality of electronic devices included in the vehicle 10 can exchangesignals through the internal communication system 50. The signals mayinclude data. The internal communication system 50 can use at least onecommunication protocol (e.g., CAN, LIN, FlexRay, MOST or Ethernet).

(3) Components of Autonomous Device

FIG. 7 is a control block diagram of the autonomous device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the autonomous device 260 may include a memory 140,a processor 170, an interface 180 and a power supply 190.

The memory 140 is electrically connected to the processor 170. Thememory 140 can store basic data with respect to units, control data foroperation control of units, and input/output data. The memory 140 canstore data processed in the processor 170. Hardware-wise, the memory 140can be configured as at least one of a ROM, a RAM, an EPROM, a flashdrive and a hard drive. The memory 140 can store various types of datafor overall operation of the autonomous device 260, such as a programfor processing or control of the processor 170. The memory 140 may beintegrated with the processor 170. According to an embodiment, thememory 140 may be categorized as a subcomponent of the processor 170.

The interface 180 can exchange signals with at least one electronicdevice included in the vehicle 10 in a wired or wireless manner. Theinterface 180 can exchange signals with at least one of the objectdetection device 210, the communication device 220, the drivingoperation device 230, the main ECU 240, the driving control device 250,the sensing unit 270 and the position data generation device 280 in awired or wireless manner. The interface 180 can be configured using atleast one of a communication module, a terminal, a pin, a cable, a port,a circuit, an element and a device.

The power supply 190 can provide power to the autonomous device 260. Thepower supply 190 can be provided with power from a power source (e.g., abattery) included in the vehicle 10 and supply the power to each unit ofthe autonomous device 260. The power supply 190 can operate according toa control signal supplied from the main ECU 240. The power supply 190may include a switched-mode power supply (SMPS).

The processor 170 can be electrically connected to the memory 140, theinterface 180 and the power supply 190 and exchange signals with thesecomponents. The processor 170 can be realized using at least one ofapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors,and electronic units for executing other functions.

The processor 170 can be operated by power supplied from the powersupply 190. The processor 170 can receive data, process the data,generate a signal and provide the signal while power is suppliedthereto.

The processor 170 can receive information from other electronic devicesincluded in the vehicle 10 through the interface 180. The processor 170can provide control signals to other electronic devices in the vehicle10 through the interface 180.

The autonomous device 260 may include at least one printed circuit board(PCB). The memory 140, the interface 180, the power supply 190 and theprocessor 170 may be electrically connected to the PCB.

(4) Operation of Autonomous Device

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a signal flow in an autonomous vehicleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

1) Reception Operation

Referring to FIG. 8, the processor 170 can perform a receptionoperation. The processor 170 can receive data from at least one of theobject detection device 210, the communication device 220, the sensingunit 270 and the position data generation device 280 through theinterface 180. The processor 170 can receive object data from the objectdetection device 210. The processor 170 can receive HD map data from thecommunication device 220. The processor 170 can receive vehicle statedata from the sensing unit 270. The processor 170 can receive positiondata from the position data generation device 280.

2) Processing/Determination Operation

The processor 170 can perform a processing/determination operation. Theprocessor 170 can perform the processing/determination operation on thebasis of traveling situation information. The processor 170 can performthe processing/determination operation on the basis of at least one ofobject data, HD map data, vehicle state data and position data.

2.1) Driving Plan Data Generation Operation

The processor 170 can generate driving plan data. For example, theprocessor 170 may generate electronic horizon data. The electronichorizon data can be understood as driving plan data in a range from aposition at which the vehicle 10 is located to a horizon. The horizoncan be understood as a point a predetermined distance before theposition at which the vehicle 10 is located on the basis of apredetermined traveling route. The horizon may refer to a point at whichthe vehicle can arrive after a predetermined time from the position atwhich the vehicle 10 is located along a predetermined traveling route.

The electronic horizon data can include horizon map data and horizonpath data.

2.1.1) Horizon Map Data

The horizon map data may include at least one of topology data, roaddata, HD map data and dynamic data. According to an embodiment, thehorizon map data may include a plurality of layers. For example, thehorizon map data may include a first layer that matches the topologydata, a second layer that matches the road data, a third layer thatmatches the HD map data, and a fourth layer that matches the dynamicdata. The horizon map data may further include static object data.

The topology data may be explained as a map created by connecting roadcenters. The topology data is suitable for approximate display of alocation of a vehicle and may have a data form used for navigation fordrivers. The topology data may be understood as data about roadinformation other than information on driveways. The topology data maybe generated on the basis of data received from an external serverthrough the communication device 220. The topology data may be based ondata stored in at least one memory included in the vehicle 10.

The road data may include at least one of road slope data, roadcurvature data and road speed limit data. The road data may furtherinclude no-passing zone data. The road data may be based on datareceived from an external server through the communication device 220.The road data may be based on data generated in the object detectiondevice 210.

The HD map data may include detailed topology information in units oflanes of roads, connection information of each lane, and featureinformation for vehicle localization (e.g., traffic signs, lanemarking/attribute, road furniture, etc.). The HD map data may be basedon data received from an external server through the communicationdevice 220.

The dynamic data may include various types of dynamic information whichcan be generated on roads. For example, the dynamic data may includeconstruction information, variable speed road information, roadcondition information, traffic information, moving object information,etc. The dynamic data may be based on data received from an externalserver through the communication device 220. The dynamic data may bebased on data generated in the object detection device 210.

The processor 170 can provide map data in a range from a position atwhich the vehicle 10 is located to the horizon.

2.1.2) Horizon Path Data

The horizon path data may be explained as a trajectory through which thevehicle 10 can travel in a range from a position at which the vehicle 10is located to the horizon. The horizon path data may include dataindicating a relative probability of selecting a road at a decisionpoint (e.g., a fork, a junction, a crossroad, or the like). The relativeprobability may be calculated on the basis of a time taken to arrive ata final destination. For example, if a time taken to arrive at a finaldestination is shorter when a first road is selected at a decision pointthan that when a second road is selected, a probability of selecting thefirst road can be calculated to be higher than a probability ofselecting the second road.

The horizon path data can include a main path and a sub-path. The mainpath may be understood as a trajectory obtained by connecting roadshaving a high relative probability of being selected. The sub-path canbe branched from at least one decision point on the main path. Thesub-path may be understood as a trajectory obtained by connecting atleast one road having a low relative probability of being selected at atleast one decision point on the main path.

3) Control Signal Generation Operation

The processor 170 can perform a control signal generation operation. Theprocessor 170 can generate a control signal on the basis of theelectronic horizon data. For example, the processor 170 may generate atleast one of a power train control signal, a brake device control signaland a steering device control signal on the basis of the electronichorizon data.

The processor 170 can transmit the generated control signal to thedriving control device 250 through the interface 180. The drivingcontrol device 250 can transmit the control signal to at least one of apower train 251, a brake device 252 and a steering device 254.

Cabin

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the interior of the vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a block diagramreferred to in description of a cabin system for a vehicle according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

(1) Components of Cabin

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a cabin system 300 for a vehicle(hereinafter, a cabin system) can be defined as a convenience system fora user who uses the vehicle 10. The cabin system 300 can be explained asa high-end system including a display system 350, a cargo system 355, aseat system 360 and a payment system 365. The cabin system 300 mayinclude a main controller 370, a memory 340, an interface 380, a powersupply 390, an input device 310, an imaging device 320, a communicationdevice 330, the display system 350, the cargo system 355, the seatsystem 360 and the payment system 365. The cabin system 300 may furtherinclude components in addition to the components described in thisspecification or may not include some of the components described inthis specification according to embodiments.

1) Main Controller

The main controller 370 can be electrically connected to the inputdevice 310, the communication device 330, the display system 350, thecargo system 355, the seat system 360 and the payment system 365 andexchange signals with these components. The main controller 370 cancontrol the input device 310, the communication device 330, the displaysystem 350, the cargo system 355, the seat system 360 and the paymentsystem 365. The main controller 370 may be realized using at least oneof application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors,and electronic units for executing other functions.

The main controller 370 may be configured as at least onesub-controller. The main controller 370 may include a plurality ofsub-controllers according to an embodiment. The plurality ofsub-controllers may individually control the devices and systemsincluded in the cabin system 300. The devices and systems included inthe cabin system 300 may be grouped by function or grouped on the basisof seats on which a user can sit.

The main controller 370 may include at least one processor 371. AlthoughFIG. 6 illustrates the main controller 370 including a single processor371, the main controller 371 may include a plurality of processors. Theprocessor 371 may be categorized as one of the above-describedsub-controllers.

The processor 371 can receive signals, information or data from a userterminal through the communication device 330. The user terminal cantransmit signals, information or data to the cabin system 300.

The processor 371 can identify a user on the basis of image datareceived from at least one of an internal camera and an external cameraincluded in the imaging device. The processor 371 can identify a user byapplying an image processing algorithm to the image data. For example,the processor 371 may identify a user by comparing information receivedfrom the user terminal with the image data. For example, the informationmay include at least one of route information, body information, fellowpassenger information, baggage information, position information,preferred content information, preferred food information, disabilityinformation and use history information of a user.

The main controller 370 may include an artificial intelligence (AI)agent 372. The AI agent 372 can perform machine learning on the basis ofdata acquired through the input device 310. The AI agent 371 can controlat least one of the display system 350, the cargo system 355, the seatsystem 360 and the payment system 365 on the basis of machine learningresults.

2) Essential Components

The memory 340 is electrically connected to the main controller 370. Thememory 340 can store basic data about units, control data for operationcontrol of units, and input/output data. The memory 340 can store dataprocessed in the main controller 370. Hardware-wise, the memory 340 maybe configured using at least one of a ROM, a RAM, an EPROM, a flashdrive and a hard drive. The memory 340 can store various types of datafor the overall operation of the cabin system 300, such as a program forprocessing or control of the main controller 370. The memory 340 may beintegrated with the main controller 370.

The interface 380 can exchange signals with at least one electronicdevice included in the vehicle 10 in a wired or wireless manner. Theinterface 380 may be configured using at least one of a communicationmodule, a terminal, a pin, a cable, a port, a circuit, an element and adevice.

The power supply 390 can provide power to the cabin system 300. Thepower supply 390 can be provided with power from a power source (e.g., abattery) included in the vehicle 10 and supply the power to each unit ofthe cabin system 300. The power supply 390 can operate according to acontrol signal supplied from the main controller 370. For example, thepower supply 390 may be implemented as a switched-mode power supply(SMPS).

The cabin system 300 may include at least one printed circuit board(PCB). The main controller 370, the memory 340, the interface 380 andthe power supply 390 may be mounted on at least one PCB.

3) Input Device

The input device 310 can receive a user input. The input device 310 canconvert the user input into an electrical signal. The electrical signalconverted by the input device 310 can be converted into a control signaland provided to at least one of the display system 350, the cargo system355, the seat system 360 and the payment system 365. The main controller370 or at least one processor included in the cabin system 300 cangenerate a control signal based on an electrical signal received fromthe input device 310.

The input device 310 may include at least one of a touch input unit, agesture input unit, a mechanical input unit and a voice input unit. Thetouch input unit can convert a user's touch input into an electricalsignal. The touch input unit may include at least one touch sensor fordetecting a user's touch input. According to an embodiment, the touchinput unit can realize a touch screen by integrating with at least onedisplay included in the display system 350. Such a touch screen canprovide both an input interface and an output interface between thecabin system 300 and a user. The gesture input unit can convert a user'sgesture input into an electrical signal. The gesture input unit mayinclude at least one of an infrared sensor and an image sensor fordetecting a user's gesture input. According to an embodiment, thegesture input unit can detect a user's three-dimensional gesture input.To this end, the gesture input unit may include a plurality of lightoutput units for outputting infrared light or a plurality of imagesensors. The gesture input unit may detect a user's three-dimensionalgesture input using TOF (Time of Flight), structured light or disparity.The mechanical input unit can convert a user's physical input (e.g.,press or rotation) through a mechanical device into an electricalsignal. The mechanical input unit may include at least one of a button,a dome switch, a jog wheel and a jog switch. Meanwhile, the gestureinput unit and the mechanical input unit may be integrated. For example,the input device 310 may include a jog dial device that includes agesture sensor and is formed such that it can be inserted/ejectedinto/from a part of a surrounding structure (e.g., at least one of aseat, an armrest and a door). When the jog dial device is parallel tothe surrounding structure, the jog dial device can serve as a gestureinput unit. When the jog dial device is protruded from the surroundingstructure, the jog dial device can serve as a mechanical input unit. Thevoice input unit can convert a user's voice input into an electricalsignal. The voice input unit may include at least one microphone. Thevoice input unit may include a beam forming MIC.

4) Imaging Device

The imaging device 320 can include at least one camera. The imagingdevice 320 may include at least one of an internal camera and anexternal camera. The internal camera can capture an image of the insideof the cabin. The external camera can capture an image of the outside ofthe vehicle. The internal camera can acquire an image of the inside ofthe cabin. The imaging device 320 may include at least one internalcamera. It is desirable that the imaging device 320 include as manycameras as the number of passengers who can ride in the vehicle. Theimaging device 320 can provide an image acquired by the internal camera.The main controller 370 or at least one processor included in the cabinsystem 300 can detect a motion of a user on the basis of an imageacquired by the internal camera, generate a signal on the basis of thedetected motion and provide the signal to at least one of the displaysystem 350, the cargo system 355, the seat system 360 and the paymentsystem 365. The external camera can acquire an image of the outside ofthe vehicle. The imaging device 320 may include at least one externalcamera. It is desirable that the imaging device 320 include as manycameras as the number of doors through which passengers ride in thevehicle. The imaging device 320 can provide an image acquired by theexternal camera. The main controller 370 or at least one processorincluded in the cabin system 300 can acquire user information on thebasis of the image acquired by the external camera. The main controller370 or at least one processor included in the cabin system 300 canauthenticate a user or acquire body information (e.g., heightinformation, weight information, etc.), fellow passenger information andbaggage information of a user on the basis of the user information.

5) Communication Device

The communication device 330 can exchange signals with external devicesin a wireless manner. The communication device 330 can exchange signalswith external devices through a network or directly exchange signalswith external devices. External devices may include at least one of aserver, a mobile terminal and another vehicle. The communication device330 may exchange signals with at least one user terminal. Thecommunication device 330 may include an antenna and at least one of anRF circuit and an RF element which can implement at least onecommunication protocol in order to perform communication. According toan embodiment, the communication device 330 may use a plurality ofcommunication protocols. The communication device 330 may switchcommunication protocols according to a distance to a mobile terminal.

For example, the communication device can exchange signals with externaldevices on the basis of C-V2X (Cellular V2X). For example, C-V2X mayinclude sidelink communication based on LTE and/or sidelinkcommunication based on NR. Details related to C-V2X will be describedlater.

For example, the communication device can exchange signals with externaldevices on the basis of DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) orWAVE (Wireless Access in Vehicular Environment) standards based on IEEE802.11p PHY/MAC layer technology and IEEE 1609 Network/Transport layertechnology. DSRC (or WAVE standards) is communication specifications forproviding an intelligent transport system (ITS) service throughshort-range dedicated communication between vehicle-mounted devices orbetween a roadside device and a vehicle-mounted device. DSRC may be acommunication scheme that can use a frequency of 5.9 GHz and have a datatransfer rate in the range of 3 Mbps to 27 Mbps. IEEE 802.11p may becombined with IEEE 1609 to support DSRC (or WAVE standards).

The communication device of the present disclosure can exchange signalswith external devices using only one of C-V2X and DSRC. Alternatively,the communication device of the present disclosure can exchange signalswith external devices using a hybrid of C-V2X and DSRC.

6) Display System

The display system 350 can display graphic objects. The display system350 may include at least one display device. For example, the displaysystem 350 may include a first display device 410 for common use and asecond display device 420 for individual use.

6.1) Common Display Device

The first display device 410 may include at least one display 411 whichoutputs visual content. The display 411 included in the first displaydevice 410 may be realized by at least one of a flat panel display, acurved display, a rollable display and a flexible display. For example,the first display device 410 may include a first display 411 which ispositioned behind a seat and formed to be inserted/ejected into/from thecabin, and a first mechanism for moving the first display 411. The firstdisplay 411 may be disposed such that it can be inserted/ejectedinto/from a slot formed in a seat main frame. According to anembodiment, the first display device 410 may further include a flexiblearea control mechanism. The first display may be formed to be flexibleand a flexible area of the first display may be controlled according touser position. For example, the first display device 410 may be disposedon the ceiling inside the cabin and include a second display formed tobe rollable and a second mechanism for rolling or unrolling the seconddisplay. The second display may be formed such that images can bedisplayed on both sides thereof. For example, the first display device410 may be disposed on the ceiling inside the cabin and include a thirddisplay formed to be flexible and a third mechanism for bending orunbending the third display. According to an embodiment, the displaysystem 350 may further include at least one processor which provides acontrol signal to at least one of the first display device 410 and thesecond display device 420. The processor included in the display system350 can generate a control signal on the basis of a signal received fromat last one of the main controller 370, the input device 310, theimaging device 320 and the communication device 330.

A display area of a display included in the first display device 410 maybe divided into a first area 411 a and a second area 411 b. The firstarea 411 a can be defined as a content display area. For example, thefirst area 411 may display at least one of graphic objects correspondingto can display entertainment content (e.g., movies, sports, shopping,food, etc.), video conferences, food menu and augmented reality screens.The first area 411 a may display graphic objects corresponding totraveling situation information of the vehicle 10. The travelingsituation information may include at least one of object informationoutside the vehicle, navigation information and vehicle stateinformation. The object information outside the vehicle may includeinformation on presence or absence of an object, positional informationof an object, information on a distance between the vehicle and anobject, and information on a relative speed of the vehicle with respectto an object. The navigation information may include at least one of mapinformation, information on a set destination, route informationaccording to setting of the destination, information on various objectson a route, lane information and information on the current position ofthe vehicle. The vehicle state information may include vehicle attitudeinformation, vehicle speed information, vehicle tilt information,vehicle weight information, vehicle orientation information, vehiclebattery information, vehicle fuel information, vehicle tire pressureinformation, vehicle steering information, vehicle indoor temperatureinformation, vehicle indoor humidity information, pedal positioninformation, vehicle engine temperature information, etc. The secondarea 411 b can be defined as a user interface area. For example, thesecond area 411 b may display an AI agent screen. The second area 411 bmay be located in an area defined by a seat frame according to anembodiment. In this case, a user can view content displayed in thesecond area 411 b between seats. The first display device 410 mayprovide hologram content according to an embodiment. For example, thefirst display device 410 may provide hologram content for each of aplurality of users such that only a user who requests the content canview the content.

6.2) Display Device for Individual Use

The second display device 420 can include at least one display 421. Thesecond display device 420 can provide the display 421 at a position atwhich only an individual passenger can view display content. Forexample, the display 421 may be disposed on an armrest of a seat. Thesecond display device 420 can display graphic objects corresponding topersonal information of a user. The second display device 420 mayinclude as many displays 421 as the number of passengers who can ride inthe vehicle. The second display device 420 can realize a touch screen byforming a layered structure along with a touch sensor or beingintegrated with the touch sensor. The second display device 420 candisplay graphic objects for receiving a user input for seat adjustmentor indoor temperature adjustment.

7) Cargo System

The cargo system 355 can provide items to a user at the request of theuser. The cargo system 355 can operate on the basis of an electricalsignal generated by the input device 310 or the communication device330. The cargo system 355 can include a cargo box. The cargo box can behidden in a part under a seat. When an electrical signal based on userinput is received, the cargo box can be exposed to the cabin. The usercan select a necessary item from articles loaded in the cargo box. Thecargo system 355 may include a sliding moving mechanism and an itempop-up mechanism in order to expose the cargo box according to userinput. The cargo system 355 may include a plurality of cargo boxes inorder to provide various types of items. A weight sensor for determiningwhether each item is provided may be embedded in the cargo box.

8) Seat System

The seat system 360 can provide a user customized seat to a user. Theseat system 360 can operate on the basis of an electrical signalgenerated by the input device 310 or the communication device 330. Theseat system 360 can adjust at least one element of a seat on the basisof acquired user body data. The seat system 360 may include a userdetection sensor (e.g., a pressure sensor) for determining whether auser sits on a seat. The seat system 360 may include a plurality ofseats on which a plurality of users can sit. One of the plurality ofseats can be disposed to face at least another seat. At least two userscan set facing each other inside the cabin.

9) Payment System

The payment system 365 can provide a payment service to a user. Thepayment system 365 can operate on the basis of an electrical signalgenerated by the input device 310 or the communication device 330. Thepayment system 365 can calculate a price for at least one service usedby the user and request the user to pay the calculated price.

(2) Autonomous Vehicle Usage Scenarios

FIG. 11 is a diagram referred to in description of a usage scenario of auser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

1) Destination Prediction Scenario

A first scenario S111 is a scenario for prediction of a destination of auser. An application which can operate in connection with the cabinsystem 300 can be installed in a user terminal. The user terminal canpredict a destination of a user on the basis of user's contextualinformation through the application. The user terminal can provideinformation on unoccupied seats in the cabin through the application.

2) Cabin Interior Layout Preparation Scenario

A second scenario S112 is a cabin interior layout preparation scenario.The cabin system 300 may further include a scanning device for acquiringdata about a user located outside the vehicle. The scanning device canscan a user to acquire body data and baggage data of the user. The bodydata and baggage data of the user can be used to set a layout. The bodydata of the user can be used for user authentication. The scanningdevice may include at least one image sensor. The image sensor canacquire a user image using light of the visible band or infrared band.

The seat system 360 can set a cabin interior layout on the basis of atleast one of the body data and baggage data of the user. For example,the seat system 360 may provide a baggage compartment or a car seatinstallation space.

3) User Welcome Scenario

A third scenario S113 is a user welcome scenario. The cabin system 300may further include at least one guide light. The guide light can bedisposed on the floor of the cabin. When a user riding in the vehicle isdetected, the cabin system 300 can turn on the guide light such that theuser sits on a predetermined seat among a plurality of seats. Forexample, the main controller 370 may realize a moving light bysequentially turning on a plurality of light sources over time from anopen door to a predetermined user seat.

4) Seat Adjustment Service Scenario

A fourth scenario S114 is a seat adjustment service scenario. The seatsystem 360 can adjust at least one element of a seat that matches a useron the basis of acquired body information.

5) Personal Content Provision Scenario

A fifth scenario S115 is a personal content provision scenario. Thedisplay system 350 can receive user personal data through the inputdevice 310 or the communication device 330. The display system 350 canprovide content corresponding to the user personal data.

6) Item Provision Scenario

A sixth scenario S116 is an item provision scenario. The cargo system355 can receive user data through the input device 310 or thecommunication device 330. The user data may include user preferencedata, user destination data, etc. The cargo system 355 can provide itemson the basis of the user data.

7) Payment Scenario

A seventh scenario S117 is a payment scenario. The payment system 365can receive data for price calculation from at least one of the inputdevice 310, the communication device 330 and the cargo system 355. Thepayment system 365 can calculate a price for use of the vehicle by theuser on the basis of the received data. The payment system 365 canrequest payment of the calculated price from the user (e.g., a mobileterminal of the user).

8) Display System Control Scenario of User

An eighth scenario S118 is a display system control scenario of a user.The input device 310 can receive a user input having at least one formand convert the user input into an electrical signal. The display system350 can control displayed content on the basis of the electrical signal.

9) AI Agent Scenario

A ninth scenario S119 is a multi-channel artificial intelligence (AI)agent scenario for a plurality of users. The AI agent 372 candiscriminate user inputs from a plurality of users. The AI agent 372 cancontrol at least one of the display system 350, the cargo system 355,the seat system 360 and the payment system 365 on the basis ofelectrical signals obtained by converting user inputs from a pluralityof users.

10) Multimedia Content Provision Scenario for Multiple Users

A tenth scenario S120 is a multimedia content provision scenario for aplurality of users. The display system 350 can provide content that canbe viewed by all users together. In this case, the display system 350can individually provide the same sound to a plurality of users throughspeakers provided for respective seats. The display system 350 canprovide content that can be individually viewed by a plurality of users.In this case, the display system 350 can provide individual soundthrough a speaker provided for each seat.

11) User Safety Secure Scenario

An eleventh scenario S121 is a user safety secure scenario. Wheninformation on an object around the vehicle which threatens a user isacquired, the main controller 370 can control an alarm with respect tothe object around the vehicle to be output through the display system350.

12) Personal Belongings Loss Prevention Scenario

A twelfth scenario S122 is a user's belongings loss prevention scenario.The main controller 370 can acquire data about user's belongings throughthe input device 310. The main controller 370 can acquire user motiondata through the input device 310. The main controller 370 can determinewhether the user exits the vehicle leaving the belongings in the vehicleon the basis of the data about the belongings and the motion data. Themain controller 370 can control an alarm with respect to the belongingsto be output through the display system 350.

13) Alighting Report Scenario

A thirteenth scenario S123 is an alighting report scenario. The maincontroller 370 can receive alighting data of a user through the inputdevice 310. After the user exits the vehicle, the main controller 370can provide report data according to alighting to a mobile terminal ofthe user through the communication device 330. The report data caninclude data about a total charge for using the vehicle 10.

The above-describe 5G communication technology can be combined withmethods proposed in the present disclosure which will be described laterand applied or can complement the methods proposed in the presentdisclosure to make technical features of the present disclosure concreteand clear.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

The above-described present disclosure can be implemented withcomputer-readable code in a computer-readable medium in which programhas been recorded.

The computer-readable medium may include all kinds of recording devicescapable of storing data readable by a computer system. Examples of thecomputer-readable medium may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solidstate disk (SSD), a silicon disk drive (SDD), a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM,magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the likeand also include such a carrier-wave type implementation (for example,transmission over the Internet). Therefore, the above embodiments are tobe construed in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive. Thescope of the disclosure should be determined by the appended claims andtheir legal equivalents, not by the above description, and all changescoming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claimsare intended to be embraced therein.

Furthermore, although the disclosure has been described with referenceto the exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat various modifications and variations can be made in the presentdisclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosuredescribed in the appended claims. For example, each component describedin detail in embodiments can be modified. In addition, differencesrelated to such modifications and applications should be interpreted asbeing included in the scope of the present disclosure defined by theappended claims.

Although description has been made focusing on examples in which thepresent disclosure is applied to automated vehicle & highway systemsbased on 5G (5 generation) system, the present disclosure is alsoapplicable to various wireless communication systems and autonomousdevices.

A method and an apparatus for wireless communication to and from avehicle in an autonomous driving system according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS.12 to 17. The autonomous vehicle and the 5G communication system thatare described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11 find application inembodiments of the present disclosure.

A signal in a millimeter-wave (mmWave) band is very sensitive to achannel change, and thus, in order to prevent heavy free-space pathloss, high-performance directional antennas are used for redundantlinks. However, exact beam alignment between a transmitter and areceiver is necessary for using the high-performance directionalantennas. This characteristic necessitates an initial access process, ahandover, and a process, such as beam tracking. Furthermore, thecharacteristic entails an initial connection time delay, a link trackingerror, and a delay time during handover, in a vehicle in which a channelchanges frequently due to fast-moving.

In addition, in the case of a method for predicting a beam directionusing a line-of-sight (LOS) communication channel, the precision ofdirection prediction decreases when blocking by an object, such as abuilding, or a human body, occurs between a road side unit (RSU) and avehicle.

A base station (or an RSU) is stationary, and signal quality is mostlydetermined by a stationary obstacle (for example, a building). Becauseof this, communication setting information (a beam angle of a millimeterwave) received and transmitted by vehicles that passed previously andcommunication setting information that is received and transmitted by avehicle that is passing thereafter are set similarly within a fixedrange. However, in a case where a wireless channel between a basestation and a vehicle is blocked by a moving object (a human body oranother vehicle), the communication unit setting information changesover time, and thus an update on the communication setting informationis required at a fixed time interval.

Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, thereis provided a method in which a vehicle that drove previously uploadspositional information and communication setting information onto aserver, in which the server constructs a communication environment mapbased on the uploaded information, and in which a vehicle that isdriving thereafter uses the communication environment map, therebyutilizing the communication environment map as initial communicationinformation.

Thus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, when a vehiclethat uses a millimeter wave uses multiple antenna components, the timetaken for beam tracking is decreased and communication stability isimproved.

A method and an apparatus for decreasing a beam search time using thecommunication environment map when a vehicle uses multiple antennacomponents for millimeter wave communication will be described below.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a functional block diagram for anapparatus for wireless communication to and from a vehicle in anautonomous driving system to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 12, the apparatus for wireless communication toand from a vehicle in an autonomous driving system includes atransceiver 1210 that includes multiple component components, aprocessor 1230 that is functionally coupled to the transceiver 1210, anda memory 1250 that is functionally coupled to the processor 1230. Thetransceiver 1210 and the processor 1230 that are illustrated in FIG. 12may be included in a vehicle 10 in FIG. 5.

The transceiver 1210 transmits or receives a signal over a wirelesschannel between the vehicle 10 and a different entity. The transceiver1210, as illustrated in FIG. 1, may include one or more Tx/Rx radiofrequency (RF) modules, Tx/Rx RF modules 915, and 925, Tx processors 912and 922, Rx processors 913 and 923, and antennas 916 and 926.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver1210 may include an antenna array that includes multiple antennacomponents. The transceiver 1210 may perform beam-forming that controlsa gain that depends on directivity of a signal that is transmitted orreceived. For example, the transceiver 1210 controls a phase differencebetween at least two antenna components in the antenna array and thuscan transmit or receive a signal in a specific direction.

The processor 1230 processes data necessary to perform a function of thevehicle 10 and thus can control the function of the vehicle 10. Theprocessor 1230 may be configured with at least one processing circuitfor processing data. The processor 1230 may be configured in the samemanner as the processors 911 and 921 in FIG. 1 or the processor 170 inFIG. 7.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor1230 executes commands stored in the memory 1250, and thus can realizemethods of wireless communication to and from the vehicle 10 accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure, which will be describedbelow. For example, the processor 1230 determines a direction oftransmitted or received beam using position-dependent beam informationthat is included in the communication environment map, controls thetransceiver 1210 through the determined the transmission and receptionbeam, and thus can perform the wireless communication to and from thevehicle 10 that performs beam-forming. In addition, if necessary, theprocessor 1230 may update the communication environment map, and maystore data of the updated communication environment map, in the memory1250 or may transmit the data to a server.

In this disclosure, the processor 1230 selects a beam corresponding tothe direction of the transmitted beam determined through a communicationenvironment map or a beam search procedure and transmits a signal usingthe selected beam, or controls the transceiver 1210 to have a hightransmission gain in an area corresponding to the determined directionof the transmitted beam. In addition, the processor 1230 sets thedirection of the received beam determined through the communicationenvironment map or the beam search procedure to the reception predictionrange, and controls the transceiver 1210 (Antenna) to have a relativelyhigh reception rate (receive gain) on the signal received in thereception prediction range.

Data processed by the processor 170 may be stored in the memory 1250,and the memory 1250 may be configured in the same manner as the memories914 and 924 in FIG. 1 or the memory 140 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a flowchart of the method for wirelesscommunication to and from a vehicle in an autonomous driving systemaccording to the present embodiment.

In Step S1305, the vehicle 10 receives data on the communicationenvironment map that includes the position-dependent beam formation,from the server. For example, the vehicle 10 may download the data onthe communication environment map from the server periodically or aftermaking a request to the server, or may update the communicationenvironment map stored in the memory 1250. In addition, in order tocorrespond to determination of a driving path to a destination, thevehicle 10 can selectively download data of the communicationenvironment map for the driving path, using a navigation module. Theserver collects beam data from vehicles that previously conducted a beamsearch, and thus can generate the communication environment map.

The position-dependent beam information here may include positionalinformation and beam-direction information relating to the positionalinformation, and the beam-direction information may include a beamdirection in which the strongest signal strength is obtained for eachspatial section that results from division by the positionalinformation, and a value of signal strength in the beam direction. Forexample, the position-dependent beam information, as described in FIG.14, may include an optimal beam direction (a beam angle) on a basis ofcoordinates representing each position, and signal strength (signalquality) in the corresponding beam direction. For example, theposition-dependent beam information may be configured with a value of aposition (coordinates representing a position), a beam index (a beamdirection), and a value of signal strength (signal quality) in thisorder. In addition, for each position, the position-dependent beaminformation may include a set of optimal reception and transmissionbeams.

In Step S1310, the vehicle 10 determines the direction of transmitted orreceived beam based on a drive path for the vehicle 10 and the receivedcommunication environment map. For example, the vehicle 10 may acquirean optimal beam direction for a position on a path along which thevehicle 10 is currently driving and signal strength for thecorresponding beam direction, from the communication environment map,and may determine a beam that is to be used to transmit or receive asignal, using the optimal beam direction and the signal strength. Inaddition, the vehicle 10 may use a beam that is derived from thecommunication environment map, and, in a case where an environment isreached in which the communication environment map is difficult toapply, may determine a direction of transmitted or received beam by anactual beam search.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle 10may determine the direction of transmitted or received beam, based on areliability value representing the precision of the communicationenvironment map and on whether or not antenna blocking occurs due to anobstacle that is present in the beam direction which is indicated by thebeam information. A detailed process of determining the direction oftransmitted or received beam based on reliability of the communicationenvironment map and on whether or not the antenna blocking occurs isdescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 15 and 17.

In Step S1315, the vehicle 10 may perform data communication through thedirection of transmitted or received beam determined in Step S1310. Forexample, by referring to the optimal beam direction corresponding to acurrent position of the vehicle 10 in the communication environment map,the vehicle 10 can determine a beam for signal transmission andreception and may adjust a phase of a signal in such a manner thatenergy concentrates in the determined beam direction.

In addition, the vehicle 10 may change the driving path for the vehicle10, based on the communication environment map. That is, the vehicle 10may change the driving path in such a manner as to drive along a paththat ensures a good communication environment, which is selected fromthe position-dependent beam information that is included in thecommunication environment map.

In addition, the vehicle 10 may change a frequency for the datacommunication and a setting of a service providing operator, based onthe communication environment map. For example, in a case where a signalin a 28 GHz band at a specific position has low signal strength andwhere a signal in a 60 GHz band has high signal strength, the vehicle 10may set a signal to be transmitted in the 60 GHz band.

In addition, the vehicle 10 may update the communication environment mapusing a type of communication, a service provider, a frequency, anantenna position, or an obstacle position, which relates to the datacommunication. For example, the vehicle 10 may update the communicationenvironment map using a type of connection-established communication, atype of connection-unestablished communication, a communicationoperator, a communication frequency, an antenna position, a directionand position (pieces of information provided by a proximity sensor) of ablocking object, and a level (for example, strong, weak, orcommunication-unachieved) of communication strength, and may transferthe updated communication environment map to the server.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a process of performing wirelesscommunication to and from a vehicle by using the communicationenvironment map in the autonomous driving system according to theembodiment of the present disclosure.

In FIG. 14, a vehicle 1210 receives the communication environment mapfrom a server 1220. The communication environment map, as illustrated inFIG. 14, includes an optimal beam direction for each position and signalstrength in the corresponding beam direction. For example, withreference to FIG. 14, the communication environment map may include anoptimal beam direction in which communication with a base station 1230is possible depending on each position, and signal strength (strong,weak, or communication-unachieved) in the corresponding beam direction.

The vehicle 1210 that performs the data communication with the basestation 1230 using the position-dependent beam information included inthe communication environment map may update the communicationenvironment map using information (for example, a type of communication,a service provider, a frequency, an antenna position, or an obstacleposition) derived during the data communication process, and may uploadthe updated communication environment map onto the server 1220.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a flow of a method of determining adirection of transmitted or received beam in the autonomous drivingsystem according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 15illustrates an example of Step S1310 in FIG. 13.

In Step S1505, the vehicle 10 determines a reliability value (areliability level) of the communication environment map. The reliabilitylevel of the communication environment map is a level of the precisionof the position-dependent beam information that is included in thecommunication environment map received from the server. For example,reliability levels may be categorized as being “low,” “middle,” or“high,” and a reliability value may be allocated to each reliabilitylevel. For example, values of “0,” “1,” and “2” of the reliability maybe allocated to low, middle, and high levels, respectively.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle 10may determine the reliability level based on an error in an anglebetween a beam direction indicated by beam information and a beamdirection that is found as a result of the search by the vehicle 10, ata specific position, or on the number of times that the antenna blockingoccurs. For example, the reliability level may be determined accordingto the number of times that an error occurs in which a difference in anangle between a beam direction (a beam angle) designated in thecommunication environment map and a beam direction in whichcommunication is achieved actually is greater than a reference angle.

For example, “high,” “middle,” and “low” levels of the reliability maybe set in a case where the number of times that the error occurs issmaller than a first reference number of times (for example, 10), in acase where the number of times that the error occurs is greater than thefirst reference number of times, but is smaller than a second referencenumber of times (for example, 100), and in a case where the number oftimes that the error occurs is greater than the second reference numberof times, respectively.

In addition, the reliability level may be determined according to thenumber of times that the antenna blocking occurs. The antenna blockinghere refers to a case where communication fails due to an obstaclepresent in the beam direction indicated by the beam information in thecommunication environment map (for example, a case where a selection asthe optimal direction of transmitted or received beam is not made). Forexample, in a case where the number of times that the antenna blockingoccurs may be counted in a case where due to the antenna blocking, thenumber of times that the antenna blocking occurs is excluded fromcalculating the number of times that the error occurs by thecommunication environment map, or in a case where the number of timesthat the antenna blocking occurs can be included in the error when anangle of the blocking is excluded.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, whether or notthe blocking the antenna occurs may be determined based on informationacquired by a proximity sensor provided to the vicinity of an antenna ofthe vehicle 10 or on a vehicle position or vehicle size of a differentvehicle positioned in the vicinity of the vehicle 10.

For example, in a case where a distance between the proximity sensor andan object, which is detected by the proximity sensor installed in thevicinity of the antenna of the vehicle 10, is smaller than a referencedistance (in a case where a degree of proximity is higher than areference value), it may be determined that the antenna blocking occurs.In addition, whether or the antenna blocking occurs may be determined bytaking into consideration a position of the antenna of the vehicle 10,together with a vehicle size and vehicle position of a differentvehicle, which are received through V2X communication. For example, in acase where a bus with an antenna of a big size passes the vicinity ofthe antenna, it may be determined that the antenna blocking occurs. Inaddition, whether or not the antenna blocking occurs may be determinedby taking into consideration whether or not an object that can prevent asignal wave is detected in the vicinity of the antenna through a camerainstalled in the vehicle 10.

In a case where the reliability value of the communication environmentmap is lower than a predetermined first reference value (in a case wherethe reliability level is “low”), the vehicle 10 proceeds to Step S1535and determines the direction of transmitted or received beam through thebeam search that uses a synchronization signal. The beam managementtechnique that is described with reference to FIG. 2 may be used for thebeam search that uses the synchronization signal. The vehicle 10 maydetermine the direction of transmitted or received beam through the beamdetermination process that uses the synchronization signal.

The reliability value of the communication environment map is the firstreference value (in a case where the reliability level is “high” or“middle”), the vehicle 10 proceeds to Step S1510 and determines whetheror not the antenna blocking occurs. As described above, whether or notthe antenna blocking occurs may be determined based on antenna-sensedinformation acquired by the proximity sensor installed in the vicinityof the antenna of the vehicle 10 or on a vehicle position or vehiclesize of a different vehicle positioned in the vicinity of the vehicle10. In addition, the vehicle position and vehicle size of the differentvehicle may be acquired from vehicle information that is received fromthe different vehicle through the V2X communication, or by the sensorinstalled in the vehicle 10.

In a case where the reliability value of the communication environmentmap is equal to or higher than a second reference value that is set tobe higher than the first reference value (the reliability level of thecommunication environment map is “high”) and where the antenna blockingdoes not occur, the vehicle 10 proceeds to Step S1520 and determines abeam corresponding to the beam direction indicated by the beaminformation included in the communication environment map, as thedirection of transmitted or received beam. For example, the vehicle 10may attempt to perform the data communication using the direction oftransmitted or received beam that corresponds to the beam directioncorresponding to a current position of the vehicle 10, which isindicated by the communication environment map.

In a case where the reliability of the communication environment map isat a first reference level or higher, but is at a second reference level(the reliability level of the communication environment map is “middle”)and where the antenna blocking does not occur, the vehicle 10 proceedsto Step S1530 and sequentially conducts a search in beam directions,starting from a beam direction that is indicated by the beaminformation, thereby determining the direction of transmitted orreceived beam. For example, during the bean search process, the vehicle10 attempts to transmit or receive a signal, preferentially using thedirection of transmitted or received beam that corresponds the beamdirection corresponding to a current position of the vehicle 10, whichis indicated by the communication environment map. The vehicle 10, if itfails to transmit or receive a signal, may sequentially search for otherbeam directions, in the order of increasing a distance to the beamdirection indicated by the communication environment map.

In a case where the antenna blocking occurs, the vehicle 10 proceeds toStep S1525, and sequentially searches for beams, starting from a beamthat is closest to the beam direction that is indicated by the beaminformation included in the communication environment map, therebydetermining the direction of transmitted or received beam. That is,because an obstacle is present in the vicinity of an antenna componentrelating to the beam direction corresponding to a current position ofthe vehicle 10, which is indicated by the communication environment map,the vehicle 10 conducts a search for beams, starting from a beam that isclosest to the beam direction that is indicated by the communicationenvironment map. The beam that is closest to the beam directionindicated by the communication environment map refers to a beam whoseangle is the least different from that of the beam direction indicatedby the communication environment map.

For example, the vehicle 10 receives the communication environment mapand thus acquires arrangement information that includes positionalinformation, beam angles (for example, a beam angle of 0 to 360 degreesin the horizontal direction and a beam angle of −30 to −90 degrees inthe vertical direction), and a level (for example, strong, weak, orcommunication-unachieved) of communication strength.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the autonomous driving systemaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 16, the autonomous driving system includes thevehicle 10 that includes an antenna set 1 (1610-1), an antenna set 2(1610-2), and a telematics unit 1615, a different vehicle in theautonomous driving system or the vehicle 10 that includes aninfrastructure apparatus 1630, and a server 1650.

The antenna set 1 (1610-1) may transmit or receive a signal (forexample, a millimeter wave) in a high frequency band for the wirelesscommunication to and from the vehicle 10. The antenna set 1 (1610-1)includes beam antennas that include beam antenna 1-1 (1611-1) and beamantenna 1-2 (1611-2) each of which transmits or receives a signalthrough a directional beam, and a proximity sensor 1 (1612) that detectswhether or not an obstacle is present in the vicinity of each of thebeam antennas. In substantially the same manner as the antenna set 1(1610-1), the antenna set 2 (1610-2) may include a beam antenna 2-1(1613-1), a beam antenna 2-2 (1613-2), and a proximity sensor 2 (1614).

The telematics unit 1615 provides information necessary forcommunication to and from the vehicle 10. The telematics unit 1615includes a communication-environment-map management module 1620 thatmanages the communication environment map, and a beam-antenna settingmodule 1625 that sets the beam antennas.

The communication-environment-map management module 1620 may include aproximate-object determination module 1621 that determines whether ornot an obstacle is present in the vicinity of the vehicle 10, areliability-of-a-communication-environment-map determination module 1623that determines the reliability value (the reliability level) of thecommunication environment map, and a communication-environment updatemodule 1624 that performs an update of the communication environmentmap. In addition, the communication-environment-map management module1620 may store a communication environment map 1622 or may load thecommunication environment map 1622 stored in the memory. Thebeam-antenna setting module 1625 may include a synchronization module1626 that performs synchronization to the base station using asynchronization signal. In addition, the beam-antenna setting module1625 may include high-priority-beam information 1627 andlow-priority-beam information 1628.

The server 1650 stores a communication environment map 1651 in adatabase and transmits the communication environment map 1651 to thevehicle 10 periodically or at the request of the vehicle 10. Inaddition, the server 1650 may receive beam information for eachposition, an update on which is performed, from the vehicle 10, or mayreceive data of the updated communication environment map.

FIG. 17 illustrates another example of the flow of the method forwireless communication to and from a vehicle in an autonomous drivingsystem according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In Step S1702, the vehicle 10 checks that a request to transmit orreceive a signal is made. For example, a request for the datacommunication is made by a driving control apparatus of the vehicle 10or a user application.

In Step S1704, the vehicle 10 determines whether or not beam trackingfor the data communication is performed. That is, it is determinedwhether or not a beam is present that is determined in advance to beused for the data communication to the vehicle 10. In the case of astate where the beam tracking is performed, the vehicle 10 proceeds toStep S1706 and performs data transmission or reception according to thebeam information that results from the tracking.

In the case of a state where the beam tracking is not performed, thevehicle 10 proceeds to Step S1708 and determines whether or not thecommunication environment map is received. In a case where thecommunication environment map is not received, the vehicle 10 proceedsto Step S1712, and receives the synchronization signal, therebyperforming an initial bean search.

In a case where the communication environment map is received, thevehicle 10 proceeds to Step S1710, and determines a method ofdetermining a beam, by taking into consideration the reliability levelof the communication environment map and the antenna blocking. Themethod of determining a beam according to the reliability level of thecommunication environment map and the antenna blocking may be set as inTable 1.

TABLE 1 Antenna blocking in Reliability of direction of beamcommunication information in environment communication Determination mapenvironment map processing 1 High Non-occurrence Transmission byutilizing beam information in communication environment map 2 HighOccurrence Attempt to receive beams at angles, starting from closestangle that is not within antenna blocking angle range 3 MiddleNon-occurrence Attempt to receive beams at angles, starting from angleindicated by communication environment map 4 Middle Occurrence Attemptto receive beams at angles, starting from closest angle that is notwithin antenna blocking angle range 5 Low No relationship Conductinginitial beam search

As shown in Table 1, (1) in a case where the reliability level of thecommunication environment map is high and where the blocking of theantenna does not occur, the vehicle 10 proceeds to Step S1724 andattempts to transmit or receive a signal using the beam directionindicated by the beam information included in the communicationenvironment map.

As shown in Table 1, (2) and (4) in a case where the liability level ofthe communication environment map is high or middle, but where theantenna blocking does not occur, the vehicle 10 proceeds to Step S1720and starts to search preferentially for a beam that is close to the beamdirection indicated by the beam information included in thecommunication environment map. When the beam search is completed, thevehicle 10 proceeds to Step S1722 and attempts to transmit or receive asignal in the bean direction in which the synchronization is completed.

As shown in Table 1, (3) in a case where the reliability level of thecommunication environment map is middle and where the antenna blockingdoes not occur, the vehicle 10 may proceed to Step S1716 and may conducta beam search in beam directions, starting from a beam direction otherthan the direction in which the blocking occurs. In addition, thevehicle 10 may conduct the beam search for beam directions, startingpreferentially from the beam direction indicated by the communicationenvironment map. Thereafter, the vehicle 10 may proceed to Step S1718and may conduct an initial beam search in beam directions, using thesynchronization signal, starting from a beam direction (or the beamdirection indicated by the communication environment map) other than thedirection in which the blocking occurs.

As shown Table 1, (5) in a case where the reliability level of thecommunication environment map is low, the vehicle 10 may proceed to StepS1712, may conduct the beam search using the synchronization signal andmay attempt to transmit or receive a signal in the beam direction inwhich the synchronization is completed in Step S1714.

In a case where the beam search is completed, the vehicle 10 maytransmit or receive data through the direction of transmitted orreceived beam determined in Step S1726. Thereafter, the vehicle 10compares the beam direction dependent on positional information, inwhich an attempt is made for the data transmission and reception in StepS1728, and the level of communication strength at which such an attemptis made, against the received communication environment map, and thusperforms an update on the reliability level of the communicationenvironment map. In a case where the degree to which the reliabilitylevel of the communication environment map decreases (an error in thelevel of the communication environment map) is at or above a threshold,the communication environment map may be updated, and data on theupdated communication environment map may be reported to or uploadedonto the server.

In addition, the method and the apparatus for wireless communication toand from a vehicle in an autonomous driving system according to theembodiment of the present disclosure may change a driving path andposition in accordance with the communication environment map. Accordingto an embodiment, the vehicle 10 receives the communication environmentmap (the arrangement information that includes positional information,beam angles (for example, a beam angle of 0 to 360 degrees in thehorizontal direction and a beam angle of −30 to −90 degrees in thevertical direction), and a level (for example, strong, weak, orcommunication-unachieved) of communication strength). Thereafter, thevehicle 10 changes the beam (antenna) direction (angle) in a manner thatis suitable for the vehicle 10, by taking into consideration a beamangle and a configuration of antennas of the vehicle 10 in the receivedcommunication environment map.

For example, the vehicle 10 may change the beam direction, reflecting acase where the vehicle 10 does not support an antenna angle indicated bythe communication environment map, or a case where transmission andreception sensitivity in a specific direction is weak. In addition, in acase where the vehicle 10 does not support the antenna angle indicatedby the communication environment map, the vehicle 10 may select an anglethat is closest to the indicated antenna angle or may conduct theinitial beam search. At this point, this results from considering that,unlike a case where one isotropic antenna is used as before,transmission and reception sensitivity (whose unit is dB) can bedecreased for each antenna angle according to a method in which manyantennas are mounted on the vehicle 10.

In addition, the vehicle 10 may search for an optimal path and positionin a communication service. For example, based on the communicationenvironment map, the vehicle 10 may avoid a position at which theantenna blocking occurs, in such a manner as to drive along a path thatensures a better communication environment. The vehicle 10 may set apath in such a manner as to move to a position at which the level ofcommunication strength is high, or to drive to a position at which thelevel of communication strength is high.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle10 may change a communication frequency in accordance with thecommunication environment map. For example, the vehicle 10 receives thecommunication environment map (the arrangement information that includespositional information, beam angles (for example, a beam angle of 0 to360 degrees in the horizontal direction and a beam angle of −30 to −90degrees in the vertical direction), and a level (for example, strong,weak, or communication-unachieved) of communication strength).Thereafter, the vehicle 10 may determine the beam direction by takinginto consideration a communication frequency, a beam angle suitable fora communication-service providing operator, and a configuration ofantennas of the vehicle 10, in the received communication environmentmap. In addition, in a case where a frequency band in which bettercommunication quality is provided for a communication service than in afrequency band currently in use is found from the communicationenvironment map and where the corresponding frequency band is availablein the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 may transmit or receive a signal usingthe corresponding frequency band. For example, in a case where anaverage level of signal strength in a 28 GHz frequency band currently inuse is “low,” or where an average level of signal strength in a 60 GHzfrequency band is “high,” the vehicle 10 may change a communicationsetting in such a manner as to use the 60 GHz frequency band.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure,the vehicle 10 determines whether or not the antenna block occurs. Thevehicle 10 receives the communication environment map (the arrangementinformation that includes positional information, beam angles (forexample, a beam angle of 0 to 360 degrees in the horizontal directionand a beam angle of −30 to −90 degrees in the vertical direction), and alevel (for example, strong, weak, or communication-unachieved) ofcommunication). Thereafter, the vehicle 10 selects an optimal beamdirection from the received communication environment map, by takinginto consideration a communication frequency, a beam angle suitable forthe communication-service providing operator, and a configuration ofantennas of the vehicle 10. When the antenna blocking is detectedcontinually in a specific direction by the proximity sensor, the vehicle10 may select a frequency corresponding to a direction different from adirection in which the antenna blocking occurs. For example, when theantenna blocking in the rightward direction is detected by the proximitysensor, the vehicle 10 selects a frequency at which a beam angle rangesfrom 0 to 180 degrees instead of from 181 to 360 degrees, from thecommunication environment map, and then transmits or receives a signal.

A point in time for download of the communication environment map forthe vehicle 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure,and contents to be uploaded, of the communication environment maptherefor are as follows. When generating a path, the vehicle 10 maydownload a portion of the communication environment map relating to thepath. In a case where a change is made to the path, a changed portion ofthe communication environment map, which corresponds to the changedportion of the path, may be downloaded. The communication environmentmap may be set to vary according to a type of communication (forexample, 5G NR, or WiFi) that is supportable by the vehicle 10, acommunication operator, a communication frequency (for example, 28 GHz,39 GHz, or 72 GHz), and an antenna position. In addition, a validationdate of the communication environment map may be set, and, by checkingthe validation data, the vehicle 10 may determine whether or not thecommunication environment map will be updated. In addition, when thetime that it takes to drive from a current position to a destination isshorter than the time T1 that it takes to update the communicationenvironment map, based on a speed of and a path (a driving direction of)for the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 may make a request to the server forthe latest communication environment map and may download the latestcommunication environment map from the server. After performing thecommunication that uses the communication environment map, the vehicle10 may update the communication environment map (the arrangementinformation that includes positional information, beam angles (forexample, a beam angle of 0 to 360 degrees in the horizontal directionand a beam angle of −30 to −90 degrees in the vertical direction), and alevel (for example, strong, weak, or communication-unachieved) ofcommunication strength), based on a type of connection-establishedcommunication, a type of connection-unestablished communication, acommunication operator, a communication frequency, an antenna position,a direction in which the antenna blocking occurs (proximity sensorinformation), and a position at which the antenna blocking occurs(proximity sensor information).

Embodiments of the present disclosure that relates to wirelesscommunication are summarized as follows.

Embodiment 1

There is provided a method for wireless communication to and from avehicle in an autonomous driving system, the method including receivingdata on a communication environment map that includes position-dependentbeam information, from a server; determining a direction of transmittedor received beam based on a driving path for the vehicle and thecommunication environment map; and performing data communication usingthe direction of transmitted or received beam.

Embodiment 2

In Embodiment 1, the position-dependent beam information may includepositional information and beam-direction information relating to thepositional information.

Embodiment 3

In Embodiment 2, the beam-direction information may include a beamdirection in which the strongest signal strength is obtained for eachspatial section that results from division by the positionalinformation, and a value of signal strength in the beam direction.

Embodiment 4

In Embodiment 1, the determining of the direction of transmitted orreceived beam may include determining the direction of transmitted orreceived beam based on a reliability value representing the precision ofthe communication environment map and on whether or not antenna blockingoccurs due to an obstacle that is present in the beam direction which isindicated by the beam information.

Embodiment 5

In Embodiment 4, the determining of the direction of transmitted orreceived beam may include determining the reliability value of thecommunication environment map, determining the direction of transmittedor received beam through a beam search that uses a synchronizationsignal, in a case where the reliability value is lower than apredetermined first reference value, determining whether or not theantenna blocking occurs, in a case where the reliability value is equalto or higher than the first reference value, determining a beam thatcorresponds to the beam direction that is indicated by the beaminformation, as the direction of transmitted or received beam, in a casewhere the reliability value is equal to or higher than a secondreference value that is set to be higher than the first reference valueand where the antenna blocking does not occur, determining the directionof transmitted or received beam by sequentially conducting a search inbeam directions, starting from the beam direction that is indicated bythe beam information, in a case where the reliability level is equal toor higher than the first reference level, but is lower than the secondreference level, and where the antenna blocking does not occur, anddetermining the direction of transmitted or received beam bysequentially conducting a search for beams, starting from a beam that isclosest to the beam direction which is indicated by the beaminformation, in a case where the antenna blocking occurs.

Embodiment 6

In Embodiment 6, the reliability value may be determined based on anerror in an angle between the beam direction indicated by the beaminformation and a beam direction that is found as a result of the searchby the vehicle, at a specific position, or on the number of times thatthe antenna blocking occurs.

Embodiment 7

In Embodiment 5, whether or not the antenna blocking occurs may bedetermined based on antenna-sensed information acquired by a proximitysensor that is provided in the vicinity of an antenna of the vehicle, oron a vehicle position and vehicle size of a different vehicle that ispositioned in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the vehicle position andvehicle size of the different vehicle may be acquired from vehicleinformation received from the different vehicle or by a sensor installedin the vehicle.

Embodiment 8

Embodiment 1 may further include changing a driving path for the vehiclebased on the communication.

Embodiment 9

Embodiment 1 may further include changing a frequency for the datacommunication and a setting of a service providing operator based on thecommunication environment map.

Embodiment 10

Embodiment 1 may further include updating the communication environmentmap using a type of communication, a service provider, a frequency, anantenna position, or an obstacle position, which relates to the datacommunication.

Embodiment 11

There is provided an apparatus for wireless communication to and from avehicle in an autonomous driving system, the apparatus including atransceiver that includes multiple antenna components; and a processorthat is functionally coupled to the transceiver, in which the processorreceives data on a communication environment map that includesposition-dependent beam information, from a server through thetransceiver, determines a direction of transmitted or received beambased on a driving path for the vehicle and the communicationenvironment map, and sets the transceiver to perform data communicationusing the direction of transmitted or received beam.

Embodiment 12

In Embodiment, the position-dependent beam information may includepositional information and beam-direction information relating to thepositional information.

Embodiment 13

In Embodiment 12, the beam-direction information may include a beamdirection in which the strongest signal strength is obtained for eachspatial section that results from division by the positionalinformation, and a value of signal strength in the beam direction.

Embodiment 14

In Embodiment 11, the processor may set the direction of transmitted orreceived beam to be determined based on a reliability value representingthe precision of the communication environment map and on whether or notantenna blocking occurs due to an obstacle that is present in the beamdirection which is indicated by the beam information.

Embodiment 15

In Embodiment 14, the processor may set the reliability value of thecommunication environment map to be determined, the direction oftransmitted or received beam to be determined through a beam search thatuses a synchronization signal, in a case where the reliability value islower than a predetermined first reference value, whether or not theantenna blocking occurs to be determined, in a case where thereliability value is equal to or higher than the first reference value,a beam that corresponds to the beam direction that is indicated by thebeam information to be determined as the direction of transmitted orreceived beam, in a case where the reliability value is equal to orhigher than a second reference value that is set to be higher than thefirst reference value and where the antenna blocking does not occur, thedirection of transmitted or received beam to be determined bysequentially conducting a search in beam directions, starting from thebeam direction that is indicated by the beam information, in a casewhere the reliability level is equal to or higher than the firstreference level, but is lower than the second reference level, and wherethe antenna blocking does not occur, and the direction of transmitted orreceived beam to be determined by sequentially conducting a search forbeams, starting from a beam that is closest to the beam direction whichis indicated by the beam information, in a case where the antennablocking occurs.

Embodiment 16

In Embodiment 15, the reliability value may be determined based on anerror in an angle between the beam direction indicated by the beaminformation and a beam direction that is found as a result of the searchby the vehicle, at a specific position, or on the number of times thatthe antenna blocking occurs.

Embodiment 17

In Embodiment 15, whether or not the antenna blocking occurs may bedetermined based on antenna-sensed information acquired by a proximitysensor that is provided in the vicinity of an antenna of the vehicle, oron a vehicle position and vehicle size of a different vehicle that ispositioned in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the vehicle position andvehicle size of the different vehicle may be acquired from vehicleinformation received from the different vehicle or by a sensor installedin the vehicle.

Embodiment 18

In Embodiment 11, the processor may set a driving path for the vehicleto be changed based on the communication environment map.

Embodiment 19

In Embodiment, the processor may set a frequency for the datacommunication and a setting of a service providing operator to bechanged based on the communication environment map.

Embodiment 20

In Embodiment 11, the processor may set the communication environmentmap to be updated using a type of communication, a service provider, afrequency, an antenna position, or an obstacle position, which relatesto the data communication.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the methoddescribed above may be realized by being stored as compute-readablecodes on a program-stored medium. The computer-readable media includeall types of recording devices in which to store data that is readableby a computer system. Example of the computer-readable medium includes ahard disk drive (HDD), a solid state disk (SSD), a silicon disk drive(SDD), a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, anoptical data storage device, and the like. The computer-readable mediummay be realized in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmissionover the Internet). Therefore, the detailed description should not beinterpreted in a limited manner in all respects, and should beconsidered as serving the purpose of illustration. The scope of thepresent disclosure is determined by legitimate construction of thefollowing claims. All equivalent modifications to the embodiments of thepresent disclosure fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication to and from avehicle in an autonomous driving system, the method comprising:receiving data on a communication environment map that includesposition-dependent beam information, from a server; determining adirection of transmitted or received beam based on a driving path forthe vehicle and the communication environment map; and performing datacommunication using the direction of transmitted or received beam. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the position-dependent beaminformation includes positional information and beam-directioninformation relating to the positional information.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the beam-direction information includes abeam direction in which the strongest signal strength is obtained foreach spatial section that results from division by the positionalinformation, and a value of signal strength in the beam direction. 4.The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining of thedirection of transmitted or received beam includes determining thedirection of transmitted or received beam based on a reliability valuerepresenting the precision of the communication environment map and onwhether or not antenna blocking occurs due to an obstacle that ispresent in the beam direction which is indicated by the beaminformation.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the determiningof the direction of transmitted or received beam includes determiningthe reliability value of the communication environment map, determiningthe direction of transmitted or received beam through a beam search thatuses a synchronization signal, in a case where the reliability value islower than a predetermined first reference value, determining whether ornot the antenna blocking occurs, in a case where the reliability valueis equal to or higher than the first reference value, determining a beamthat corresponds to the beam direction that is indicated by the beaminformation, as the direction of transmitted or received beam, in a casewhere the reliability value is equal to or higher than a secondreference value that is set to be higher than the first reference valueand where the antenna blocking does not occur, determining the directionof transmitted or received beam by sequentially conducting a search inbeam directions, starting from the beam direction that is indicated bythe beam information, in a case where the reliability level is equal toor higher than the first reference level, but is lower than the secondreference level, and where the antenna blocking does not occur, anddetermining the direction of transmitted or received beam bysequentially conducting a search for beams, starting from a beam that isclosest to the beam direction which is indicated by the beaminformation, in a case where the antenna blocking occurs.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the reliability value is determined basedon an error in an angle between the beam direction indicated by the beaminformation and a beam direction that is found as a result of the searchby the vehicle, at a specific position, or on the number of times thatthe antenna blocking occurs.
 7. The method according to claim 5, whereinwhether or not the antenna blocking occurs is determined based onantenna-sensed information acquired by a proximity sensor that isprovided in the vicinity of an antenna of the vehicle, or on a vehicleposition and vehicle size of a different vehicle that is positioned inthe vicinity of the vehicle, and the vehicle position and vehicle sizeof the different vehicle are acquired from vehicle information receivedfrom the different vehicle or by a sensor installed in the vehicle. 8.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: changing a drivingpath for the vehicle based on the communication environment map.
 9. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising: changing a frequencyfor the data communication and a setting of a service providing operatorbased on the communication environment map.
 10. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising: updating the communication environment mapusing a type of communication, a service provider, a frequency, anantenna position, or an obstacle position, which relates to the datacommunication.
 11. An apparatus for wireless communication to and from avehicle in an autonomous driving system, the apparatus comprising: atransceiver that includes multiple antenna components; and a processorthat is functionally coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processorreceives data on a communication environment map that includesposition-dependent beam information, from a server through thetransceiver, determines a direction of transmitted or received beambased on a driving path for the vehicle and the communicationenvironment map, and sets the transceiver to perform data communicationusing the direction of transmitted or received beam.
 12. The apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein the position-dependent beam informationincludes positional information and beam-direction information relatingto the positional information.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12,wherein the beam-direction information includes a beam direction inwhich the strongest signal strength is obtained for each spatial sectionthat results from division by the positional information, and a value ofsignal strength in the beam direction.
 14. The apparatus according toclaim 11, wherein the processor sets the direction of transmitted orreceived beam to be determined based on a reliability value representingthe precision of the communication environment map and on whether or notantenna blocking occurs due to an obstacle that is present in the beamdirection which is indicated by the beam information.
 15. The apparatusaccording to claim 14, wherein the processor sets the reliability valueof the communication environment map to be determined, the direction oftransmitted or received beam to be determined through a beam search thatuses a synchronization signal, in a case where the reliability value islower than a predetermined first reference value, whether or not theantenna blocking occurs to be determined, in a case where thereliability value is equal to or higher than the first reference value,a beam that corresponds to the beam direction that is indicated by thebeam information to be determined as the direction of transmitted orreceived beam, in a case where the reliability value is equal to orhigher than a second reference value that is set to be higher than thefirst reference value and where the antenna blocking does not occur, thedirection of transmitted or received beam to be determined bysequentially conducting a search in beam directions, starting from thebeam direction that is indicated by the beam information, in a casewhere the reliability level is equal to or higher than the firstreference level, but is lower than the second reference level, and wherethe antenna blocking does not occur, and the direction of transmitted orreceived beam to be determined by sequentially conducting a search forbeams, starting from a beam that is closest to the beam direction whichis indicated by the beam information, in a case where the antennablocking occurs.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein thereliability value is determined based on an error in an angle betweenthe beam direction indicated by the beam information and a beamdirection that is found as a result of the search by the vehicle, at aspecific position, or on the number of times that the antenna blockingoccurs.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein whether or notthe antenna blocking occurs is determined based on antenna-sensedinformation acquired by a proximity sensor that is provided in thevicinity of an antenna of the vehicle, or on a vehicle position andvehicle size of a different vehicle that is positioned in the vicinityof the vehicle, and the vehicle position and vehicle size of thedifferent vehicle are acquired from vehicle information received fromthe different vehicle or by a sensor installed in the vehicle.
 18. Theapparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor sets a drivingpath for the vehicle to be changed based on the communicationenvironment map.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein theprocessor sets a frequency for the data communication and a setting of aservice providing operator to be changed based on the communicationenvironment map.
 20. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein theprocessor sets the communication environment map to be updated using atype of communication, a service provider, a frequency, an antennaposition, or an obstacle position, which relates to the datacommunication.